A new family
by MikeMc
Summary: AU story. Sirius grows tired of waiting for his freedom and sets a series of actionshit which will lead to his freedom and a new family with his Godson. Little does he know that a certain family member will both aid him and give him a few new grey hairs. Note. The death eaters were never locked up, instead they all claimed to be under the imperious curse. No Azkaban breakout needed
1. Chapter 1

**AN – AU story involving a fed up Sirius and the events he sets in motion. Hope everyone enjoys it. Read and review**

 **Chapter 1**

Sirius sat in Grimmauld place fuming; how could Dumbledore have let all this happen. Voldemort was back and no one believed Harry, the boy who lied as they now called him. He realized that Dumbledore was playing games; games that left Harry as an outcast, Sirius as a wanted man and the wizarding world at his mercy.

He entered the Black library with determination the likes of which had not been with him since they created the map. He was onto his sixth book regarding Wizarding law and the request for an appeal of a trial when there was a knock at the door. It startled him; no one knew where Grimmauld place was since it was under powerful and ancient magic

He grabbed a knife and made his way down the hall way careful not to wake the portrait. He flung the door open and was faced with one of the remaining four Black family members and she looked horrible.

"Sirius" she spoke and collapsed into his arms

He dragged her upstairs and into a bedroom so that she could sleep; Kreacher walked into the room and looked ecstatic that his favourite family member had returned.

"Take care of her" Sirius ordered and made his way back downstairs to focus on his task; it had just gotten more important

The hours went by and Sirius had found a solution to his problem; and if he could find it in a few hours then he knew so could Dumbledore. He was dragged out of his silent rage when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She stood in the doorway; black hair dishevelled, piercing black eyes full of tears and clothes which were ripped. He hadn't seen her since they turned 14, she was given to the Lestrange's in some marriage alliance and she was never the same. Bellatrix, she pretended to be the good daughter while she was under the eyes of her parents but late at night she would sit with Sirius and they would talk about the Muggle world and how lucky James was to have Lily who shared it with him.

"Sirius" she said when she saw that his eyes had glossed over in thought

"Hmm" he replied

"I need your help, I need you to protect me" she pleaded

"Come, sit. It seems we have a lot to talk about" he smiled

"We don't have much time" she said sitting down beside him and putting down several vials of memories

"Lestrange has me under a potion, if I don't drink it twice a day I will lose my memories and go back to my fifteen year old self. Today I managed to escape; he forgot the door unlocked and he poorly worded the vow he made me take" she paused

"I'm shit at potions" Sirius said "It was more a James and Remus thing"

"I don't want you to brew me the potion. I want to have another chance at life Sirius, I want to be fifteen again and try Hogwarts again"

"Are you sure? I know they never let you finish your education but would you really want to go back?"

"Definitely" she answered

"When does the potion wear off?" Sirius asked

"I have another hour or so" she glanced up at the watch

"Okay, I need your help then. Conjure up more vials, I need to drag a few memories up" he explained

"Are you going to get your name cleared?" she asked

"Both our names, I'm guessing those memories are all evidence to what Lestrange made you do?"

"Yes and more, it'll prove that Voldemort has returned and the cure for the Longbottom's" she wiped a tear away "Thank you Sirius" she smiled

"No problem, let's get to work" so they sat and gathered memories that Sirius thought was relevant and put them into vials

Hedwig flew into the window and perched herself on the back of a chair, she had a letter attached to her leg. Sirius packed all the vials into a box and started on a letter to an old friend who would help him before he read Harry's latest letter

 _Dear Amy,_

 _I know it's been a while since we have written or even spoken to one another but this old dog needs your help. I was framed Amy and I need you to look over the vials in the box and the case law I found and see if you can help me at all._

 _There's more, before you roll your eyes, Bellatrix is innocent too. She has vials in the box as well._

 _If you can help us the House of Black will forever be indebted to the House Bones_

 _Padfoot_

Bellatrix sat down and started shivering, it started in her hands. Those hands which hurt so many, the she felt her whole body shrink back down to that of an adolescent. Next was her hair, it became as black as night all they grey disappearing and then she closed her eyes and forgot the last 30 years of her life. Her dark mark burned and then disappeared, scorching her robe's sleeve, and then she slumped in the chair

At the same time in Gringotts a marriage contract burned away in the Lestrange vault.

Sirius watched the transformation; he checked whether she was breathing. He called for Kreacher and instructed him to take care of her and then he went on to read Harry's letter

 _Hi Padfoot,_

 _I am back at the Dursley's. Please keep Hedwig safe for the summer_

 _I keep having dreams about Voldemort now that he's back. It's not making sense but I could really use your advice_

 _Harry_

The short note gave Sirius even more determination to accomplish his goals. He wrapped everything and asked Hedwig to take the parcel to the Bones home. She nipped his finger and grabbed the parcel and flew out the window. She arrived there the following morning as Amelia and Susan were having breakfast

"What a beautiful owl" Amelia commented as Susan grabbed a bowl for water

"It's Harry Potter's owl auntie" she smiled "And I think it's addressed to you, it says Amy" Susan said

Amelia knew only one person dared call her that, she jumped up and read the letter before taking the contents upstairs returning only to tell Susan to keep herself occupied for the day. She checked her schedule and knew that the idiot minister was not in the country and immediately got to work. If she was to free him she would have to do it today.

She sent out owls to Wizengamot member she knew were good or at least neutral until she had a majority. She contacted Albus to let him know that there was a trial that needed to happen immediately and he readily agreed.

She stormed into her offices and got everything she needed and then sent an owl to Susan with a note for Hedwig to take to Sirius.

Sirius read the note which simply read

 _Get your mangy arse to the Ministry and bring Bellatrix. NOW_

He smiled


	2. Chapter 2

**AN – Two chapters. Hope everyone enjoys these setup chapters and reviews**

 **Chapter 2**

Harry sat on his bed fuming, why was everyone keeping him in the dark? Sirius hadn't sent him anything; granted it had only been three days. He grabbed a few books and got started on summer assignments before he was ordered to do some menial task for the Dursley's. He was halfway through a charms paper when he heard the front door open and shouting started

"Who are you?" Vernon bellowed from down stairs and then Harry heard a thump, Vernon had to have fallen. Who could it be though; no one he knew would attack his sorry excuse for relatives. He hid behind the door; damn Vernon for taking his wand from him. The door opened and he shoved the individual forward and jumped on them

"Calm down pup" Sirius joked

"Sirius" he said helping his godfather up and giving him a tight hug

"I don't know what's worse you trying to kill me or you hugging me" Sirius laughed

"What are you doing here? Does the Dumbledore know?" he asked looking around

"Fuck Dumbledore, I'm free no thanks to him" Sirius' expression turned grim

"Does that mean?"

"That you're leaving with me, right now actually" Sirius said proudly and handed him his wand and a copy of the daily prophet

"How the hell Sirius?" Harry asked reading the headline

"It has been a busy three days" he laughed

"The chosen one?" Harry asked following down the stairs

"Apparently it's catchy"

They grabbed all his stuff and then apparated to Grimmauld place

"Is this where you have been hiding?" Harry asked

"Yes" he handed him a piece of paper with the address on "If you're not with me you wouldn't have seen it"

"Awesome" Harry said looking at his new home

"Before we go inside I want to tell you a few things" Sirius became slightly more serious

"Sure" Harry said

"You can perform magic now, the underage ban has been lifted for you and only you. Secondly as you read everyone knows Voldemort is back and you will need to start training. Thirdly and most importantly, there's someone else in the house and I want you to give her a chance because she helped me accomplish all of this and I'm hoping you two get along" Sirius said

"I will do my best in the training and I try and give whoever it is a chance since they helped free me from the Dursley's"

They stepped into the house and Harry marvelled at how beautiful the house was, it had light green walls and a dark wood floor. He was lead down the entrance hall and upstairs into a bedroom which had a bed three times the size of the one he had at the Dursley's and a huge window which looked out onto the park outside.

"This is your room Pup" Sirius smiled

"Thank you Sirius" Harry said giving the older man a hug again

"Tomorrow we'll go and get you decent clothing" Sirius said "Unpack and meet me downstairs"

Harry unshrunk his trunk and got to work making the room more personal. He filled the bookshelf with his books and for the first time since he got the trunk it was completely empty; he sat on the bed and realised how much the Dursley's robbed from his childhood. The bookshelf was only half full and only with school books and his only belongings didn't even fill a shelf. He went into the ensuite bathroom and washed up before heading downstairs

He reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Sirius at the floo so he decided to go check out the rest of his new home. When he entered the kitchen he saw her, she looked beautiful and about his age. She had her hair, which was the blackest hair he'd ever seen, in a ponytail and she was mixing something in a bowl. She had on a blue jeans and a white t-shirt and when she looked at him he saw she had dark eyes too

"Hi" he said and smiled at her

"Hi" she said smiling too

"Are you the Pup?" she smiled putting down the bowl and stepping forward

"I guess I am, Harry is my actual name" she smiled

"Nice to meet you Harry, I'm Bellatrix Black" she smiled and gave him a hug but felt him freeze when she said her name

"Sirius said this might happen" she said stepping back and raising her hands in a peaceful gesture

"How?" Harry asked softly

"Harry?" Sirius shouted up the stairs and walked into the kitchen and was shocked to see Harry standing wand in hand and waves of magic pouring off of him

"Harry, remember what I told you outside" Sirius said stepping forward "Bellatrix helped me with all of this and she was forced into a lot" Sirius said stepping in front of Harry breaking his line of sight

Harry stood still shaking from the anger

"Bella, why don't I take Harry out? We'll be back for supper" he smiled at her and dragged Harry to the floo and then they arrived in Gringotts

"Sirius I need you to explain all this to me? I'm tired of being in the dark" Harry said ripping his arm out of Sirius' grip

"Come with me" Sirius said understanding Harry's frustration

They sat down at the back of a restaurant and Sirius ordered two butterbeers

"Bellatrix has been under a potion and a vow most of her life Harry, everything she done from the day she turned fifteen has been forced by either her parents or her husband. She's fourteen again because of some idiotic potion to keep her quiet; but she's a Black through and through so she figured out an escape route. Her memories are the reason you're allowed to use magic and the reason everyone knows Voldemort is back"

"But she is Voldemort's ally" Harry countered

"Look at her Harry, is that the first thought you had when you saw her. That she's evil?" Sirius asked

"Well no" Harry blushed slightly

"Exactly, don't act like I did the night we lost your parents. Let's use our heads on this one okay? Because I need you Pup"

"For what?" Harry asked

"Bella wants to go to Hogwarts with you in the next semester and I need you to protect her" Sirius said

"She knows more magic than I do" Harry said wondering how he was supposed to protect someone after he couldn't protect Cedric

"No she doesn't. She doesn't remember her adult life, she is still confused about how I'm this old and she's still a kid" Sirius smiled sadly

"Okay" Harry muttered

"Thanks Pup" Sirius said "Now about these dreams that you've been having?"

"It's always about him asking someone about _it_ and no one seems to be able to help him" Harry said not willing to meet Sirius' eyes

"That's not all, I knew James and Lily. You're hiding something" Sirius stated

"I don't see him in the dreams I _AM_ him and I enjoy the killing when I'm dreaming but then I wake up drenched in sweat" Harry said ashamed

"You are not him Harry. I don't know what the dreams mean but we'll figure it out together; we have the summer to get answers" Sirius said

"Thanks Sirius" Harry smiled

"Now don't think I didn't see that blush earlier. What were you thinking about my cousin?" Sirius teased

"She's pretty" Harry muttered which caused Sirius to laugh out loud

"For the record she thinks you're quite a looker too, especially in that picture" Sirius said pointing to a picture in the daily prophet laying on the table next to theirs; it was a picture of Harry from the tournament with the Golden egg in one hand and the Firebolt in the other

"Let's go, I have to apologise to Bellatrix" Harry said punching the older man

"Just like James" Sirius moaned, paid the bill and soon they were on their way back home

When they arrived they found Bellatrix laying on one of the couch paging through a book, she had a strand of hair hanging over her face. She smiled at the two of them when she saw them

"Bella, I need to go to Amy quickly but Harry would like to speak to you" Sirius said and stepped into the floo again leaving the two teens alone

"I'm sorry about earlier, I have anger issues" Harry started

"It's okay Harry, Sirius told me it would be difficult for me because of somethings I done when I was older I guess" she laugh nervously and smiled causing a small smile to appear on Harry's face "Sorry I'm still getting used to being told I'm fifteen again when I think I'm fifteen for the first time"

"It's okay, we'll deal with it" Harry smiled at her

"You sound like Sirius now" she laughed

"I'm not a mangy old man" Harry muttered

"Are you hungry?" she asked

"Yes I am" he said and allowed her to drag him to the kitchen

After they ate they spoke about their first four years of schooling and Harry realised that nothing had changed about Hogwarts curriculum barring second year defence against the dark arts. He spent the rest of the evening doing summer homework with Bella, as she insisted he call her. Sirius returned later and told the teens about everything happening at the ministry and Hogwarts

"Oh and I have these" he said holding up two letters

"Professor McGonagall is looking forward to seeing you both" he smiled

"Why do you have them so early?" Harry asked

"Could you be more like Lily" Sirius whined

"Fess up old man" Bella interjected

"I kinda stole them from her" Sirius said guiltily

Both teens laughed at their guardians antics and for the first time since Hogwarts Harry Potter felt home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Harry watched her make her way around the kitchen preparing food; she always moved with such purpose but still graceful. He heard a lot about Bellatrix from his friends and read a lot about her and the first war with Voldemort and that image couldn't be reconciled with the beautiful girl in front of him.

Half the summer holiday had passed and still no word from Ron or Hermione even though he had been writing them every week about the various assignments and trying to make plans to see them. With a partner like Bellatrix, who was always encouraging him, he managed to finish his holiday assignments and since Sirius had gotten their letters earlier they decided today they would head to Diagon Alley for their books and some training gear.

They walked down the Alley and it looked livelier than what Harry had seen it over the many years he had been here

"What's wrong?" Bellatrix asked

"It looks so lively" He explained

"It usually is during the summer, except for the last two weeks when it's basically just back to school shopping" she explained

"That's usually when I get to go with Ron and Hermione" Harry answered

"I'm sorry that you haven't heard from them" she said taking his hand and squeezing it

"It's okay, I just hope they're alright" he smiled at her and they went about the rest of the day doing shopping for various things that they didn't necessarily need

They decided to have lunch at the same restaurant that Sirius took him to; they sat closer to the front where the windows were charmed to let you see out but no one could see into the place. They were finishing the order when Harry saw the Weasley family plus Hermione walk past and into the bookstore

"I'll be right back okay?" Harry said and left without waiting for an answer and walked in the bookstore

He found Ron and Hermione easily enough because she was lecturing him on something and he looked as though she was mad

"Hey guys" he said

"What are you doing here?" Hermione scolded

"Why shouldn't I be out and about?" he countered

"Cause you know who is running around causing chaos and Dumbledore said you should remain safe" Ron answered

"Well Sirius thinks it safe enough for me to be out. Why haven't you responded to my letters?" he asked Hermione more than Ron

"Dumbledore said you should be kept safe. So he forbid us from replying to any off your letters" Hermione said

"And you just listened to him?" Harry asked in disbelief "Am I not your friend? Are we not on summer break so the Headmaster has no say over our lives for at least three months of the year?" Harry almost shouted

"Dumbledore is wise Harry…" Hermione started but she never finished because Mrs Weasley saw him and started shouting

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE ALLEY? DUMBLEDORE HAS FORBIDDEN IT" she went on but Harry made his way for the exit and disappeared into the crowd and found his way back to the restaurant. Bellatrix was drinking some apple juice and his own juice stood untouched. He slid back into his seat and stared out the window at the bookstore for a bit

"So where'd you go?" she asked softly seeing that he was angry again

"I saw my _friends_ go into the bookstore and thought I'd surprise them, it seems that Sirius was right. Dumbledore is playing a dangerous game and it involves keeping me in the dark" Harry said and then told her verbatim what had gone down in the bookstore.

"So she shouted your full name out loud in the middle of a crowded place to keep you safe?" Bellatrix asked egregiously

"Yeah" he replied simply and ran his hands through his hair

"Well I don't know what to say Harry, we'll talk to Sirius later and figure it out" she said as their food arrived

"Let's eat and get out of here, I'm keen to get started on the duelling book we got" he smiled at her

"Let's" she nodded and got dug into her lunch

When they arrived home they found Sirius in the library going over what looked like contracts and mumbling to himself.

"What's that Sirius?" Bellatrix asked

"Just some legal guardian documents. Apparently we'll be getting two visits from the ministry and the hospital to make sure I'm caring for you properly" he said bitterly

"Why didn't the Dursley's have to receive those visits?" Harry asked

"Dumbledore said it wasn't necessary but for me he is insisting that it happens" Sirius sounded hurt

"Well he is wrong and we'll show everyone what a fantastic guardian you are" Bellatrix said rubbing his shoulder "Also Harry ran into the Weasleys today" she followed up

"How did that go? Ron and Hermione glad to see you?" Sirius asked looking hopeful

"Not exactly" he said and then told Sirius the entire story

"I don't believe them, after everything Lily and James have done, everything you have done for that family and then they listen to Dumbledore. I give up, I thought once you saw them that things would change but it seems that they are going to follow Dumbledore blindly" Sirius said shaking his head

"It's okay Padfoot, we'll be alright" Harry said

"We'll figure it out" he said and got up and went upstairs leaving the teens alone in the library. Hedwig flew through the window and landed on her perch with a letter tied to her leg

Harry opened it and saw it was for Sirius, he went upstairs and gave him the note

"The Longbottoms want us over for supper tonight" he said to Harry

"Are Frank and Alice better?" Harry asked

"It seems so, she wrote the letter" Sirius smiled

"I'll tell Bella" Harry said and ran downstairs knocking Bellatrix over when he rounded the corner. They ended in a heap on the floor Bellatrix on top of him

"Careful, you might break me" she joked

"The Black family isn't that weak" he laughed and helped her up

"So what has you running around the house?" she asked

"We're invited to supper by the Longbottoms" he smiled

"How are Frank and Alice doing?" she asked

"Apparently Alice wrote the note, so Sirius thinks it's going well" Harry responded "Don't look so sad Bella, I'm sure everything will be okay" he said seeing her frown and gave her a hug

"Thanks Harry" she smiled and went upstairs while Harry went into the game room to throw some darts. It was something he could do without having to think too much. So his mind always drifted to something else. Today it was about a possible move to a new house. Sirius told him about the other houses the Black family owned and that he wanted to move them to the one with more outside space, which in Sirius terms meant Quidditch pitch. Harry summoned the darts and continued playing for a bit before Sirius told him to get changed so that they could leave. He went and put on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and a pair of sneakers and made his way to the floo where Bellatrix and Sirius were waiting for him

They arrived at the Longbottoms parlour and found Neville waiting for their arrival

"Hi Harry" the other teen smiled brightly, clearly happier than Harry had ever seen him

"Hi Neville" Harry said when he was released from the hug

"Hi Bellatrix and Sirius" he said giving both members of the Black family a hug as well "Mom and dad are outside waiting for us" he said leading them out onto a patio which overlooked the most beautiful garden Harry had ever seen

Frank and Alice stood to greet the new arrivals; Neville looked just like Frank in the way Harry looked just like James. Alice was shorter than everyone else except Bellatrix who was the same height.

"It's nice to meet you Harry, did you know I'm your godmother?" Alice asked after giving the teen a tight hug which felt more like home than Mrs Weasleys hugs

"I didn't, here I thought I'd have to settle for the dog as a godparent" he laughed and got a smack on the back of the head from Sirius

"Keep cracking jokes like that and I'll leave you here" Sirius laughed

They spent supper getting to know one another and making plans for the remainder of the summer; Bellatrix and Neville took a walk alone after dinner and came back looking more at ease with one another. Bellatrix noticed that had had seen them leave and had a look on her face that she couldn't place, so she decided to ask him about it when they were at home. The evening was pleasant but like all good things it had come to an end. Later Harry found himself sitting in a wingback chair reading a quidditch magazine when he heard a knock at his door. He still wore his clothes from earlier except for the sneakers.

"Come in" he said putting the book down

"Are you busy?" Bellatrix asked poking her head in

"No come on in, what's up?" he asked

"Just wanted to ask if everything was alright" she half asked half stated

"It's okay, why do you ask?" he said sitting a bit straighter

"It's just when I left with Neville and got back you looked, I don't know how to put it" she said nervously

"I was just confused I guess" he half smiled

"I just wanted to say sorry for my actions when I was older" she explained

"You don't have to explain Bella" he said

"But I want to, you need to know that there isn't anything between Neville and me. I like spending time with you, I feel more normal when you're around" she explained further

He chuckled and sat on the bed next to her and tucked the one strand that was always in her face behind her ear.

"I actually meant that you don't have to explain the actions of the older Bellatrix, but so you know you make me feel normal too and I feel at home here with you and Sirius" he said opening up a bit "Before he came and got me the first half of my summer holidays were miserable Bella. I guess it was better than when I was younger but it was still no picnic. Then all of this happened and now I have someone who cares about me and clothes that don't look like I stole them from a beached whale" he said causing her to laugh

"Those clothes looked horrible on you" she said "Looking much better now" she smiled

"Thanks, and thanks for coming to talk to me" he said and she got up to leave

"Night Harry"

"Night Bella"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sweat fell from his brow as he stood up off the cold floor; Sirius has been pushing him harder and harder the closer the end of the summer holiday got. He had training twice a day and the rest of the time Sirius let him do pretty much whatever he wanted to

"Much better Harry" Sirius praised and gave him a bottle of water

"Thanks, so tonight again?" Harry asked

"I don't know, we are supposed to be having a visit today, Ministry and St Mungos healer" Sirius said as they went upstairs from the basement.

"Okay, I'm going to take a bath" Harry said running up the stairs

Sirius watched him go before he went into the kitchen and found Bellatrix having breakfast and giving Kreacher instructions for the day.

"Morning Bella" Sirius said grabbing the Daily prophet from the counter and sitting across from her

"Morning Padfoot" she said looking for Harry

"Upstairs taking a bath" Sirius answered the unasked question

"Oh" she replied

"Kreacher go and clean the training room" Sirius ordered and the house-elf obeyed "I want to talk to you about Harry" he said to Bellatrix

"What about him?" she asked

"He had a rough childhood Bella, hell I don't even know half of it so I just want you to take it slowly. I see the way you look at him, James looked at Lily like that" he explained running his fingers through his hair "I'm not telling you what to do. I just don't want to see either of you two getting into something rash" Sirius said and added a smile to let her know he was trying to look out for her

"I know Siri, it's just he makes me feel good about myself. He makes me relax, you know how it was growing up with my parents" she said

"I know and I know you're just fifteen but we were raised in a different world. With blood purists for parents, Harry was raised by the worst kind of muggles" Sirius explained

"I understand" she smiled

"How are you feeling about Hogwarts?" He asked trying to change the conversation

"I'm excited to go back" she smiled

"McGonagall said she would try and get you sorted again" he said

"Slytherin won't be so bad" she tried to defend her house

"Things have changed Bella" Sirius tried to convince her "Another house may be safer"

"Ok, maybe Ravenclaw this time around" she smiled

"Good, we have visitors today so go and get done" he chased her upstairs and went about making himself a cup of coffee

Bellatrix passed Harry in the halls and gave him a hug and ruffling his hair causing it to be even untidier than before and then she went into her room and he went downstairs

He grabbed a bowl and poured himself cereal and sat down across from Sirius

"So have you decided about moving?" Harry asked

"I've considered it and I think we'll wait until you've finished your schooling" he said and checked his watch

"I have to go collect the healer and Ministry worker, I'll be back in a few minutes" he explained and left the kitchen

Harry thought he'd get some reading done while he waited so he read through his defence text. He couldn't believe that it was so crappy, even for the subpar quality of his education. Phrases like _wait for the Aurors_ got his blood boiling at it ridiculousness. He was reading through the book when Sirius walked in with two women who could not look more different. The one woman was tall and wore simple grey robes, she was skinny and had a very kind expression on her face. Whereas the other woman was short and rotund and wore ridiculous pink robes. Her expression lightened when she saw Harry reading the defence text

"Good to see you're brushing up Mr Potter that is a fine book on defence" she smiled and immediately wrote something down on her clipboard.

"Harry this is Madam Umbridge and Healer Smith. They'll be conducting the home visit" Sirius said

"Hi" he smiled at the ladies

"Well, let's get started. Madam Umbridge I'll take you around the home to inspect for Ministry purposes and Healer Smith can get started with Harry" Sirius said guiding the pink-clad woman out of the room

"Harry, may I call you Harry?" she asked

"Yes please" he smiled

"Take a seat so I can perform a few diagnostic spells on you" she smiled at the boy

She cast spell after spell and made notes on everything she had found, next she had him drink a few potions and took a few drops of blood and cast more spells on him.

"You seem very healthy Harry, I just have a few questions" she asked looking at the results of the blood test she done.

"Okay, I'll answer as best as I can" he smiled nervously

"I see you've suffered broken ribs and a fracture to one of your arms but the other looks like you've regrown the bones in the last three years. Can you explain these to me please?" she asked gently

"In second year Mr Lockhart vanished the bones in my arm so Madam Pomfrey, our healer at Hogwarts, gave me skele-grow" he explained "Uhm the rest are from my muggle relatives, they punished me" he said becoming withdrawn

"Harry, none of the abuse is your fault. They hurt you so that they could feel better about themselves. I promise you that what you've said will remain confidential but I'd like Sirius to bring you round my offices so I can give you a few potions and ointments which will help with the scars" she smiled and held his hands

He nodded and gave her a friendly smile. Bellatrix entered the room as Harry left so she could get her check-up.

"And that's the Black House Madam Umbridge" Sirius smiled, slightly forced

"Very well Mr Black, everything seems in order and confirms the Minister's suspicions" she spoke "You're doing a good job with Mr Potter, we're extremely glad that he is away from a certain headmaster" she smile and winked at Sirius "Keep up the good work on that defence book Mr Potter" she left the house.

"That woman is bloody mental, that book is a piece of shit!" Sirius said "How did you know to use that book?" Sirius asked

"I didn't, I was reading it hoping I had been wrong about the book but I wasn't. It's complete hogwash" Harry laughed

"Are you sure you don't have any Liquid luck on you?" Sirius put on a show about patting Harry down

"Liquid luck?" he asked

"I'll tell you about it later" Sirius said seeing the door of the study open and the healer walked out smiling

"Thank you Mr Black, both teens are healthy. I've asked Harry to come and see me before the summer ends so that we can go about fixing some things. Like his eye sight for example" she smiled

"I will bring him later this week then" Sirius smiled and escorted the woman to the door

Harry found Bella in the study reading through her transfiguration notes, her hair was loose and hanging over the pages. He watched her for a bit from the door before joining her; that was where Sirius found them after his discussion with the Healer. He watched them study for a few seconds and then left to do some enquiries.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Harry sat at the poolside at Longbottom manor relaxing and chatting to Neville about the school year ahead. They watched Hannah and Bellatrix enjoy themselves in the pool in between their conversations

"So what about Ron and Hermione then?" Neville asked

"I don't know Nev. Sirius and I have been speaking about it and the letters we received from Dumbledore about my safety. It seems everyone would prefer I'd be holed up at the Dursley's feeling miserable and hated" he spoke plainly and directly. It was something Harry was enjoying about hanging with Neville instead; he could be open and honest without worrying about how he'd be perceived

"I understand how you feel Harry, I've seen how they've all treated you over the years and you've never deserved the trouble you've gotten because of it" Neville said "And for what it's worth Hannah and I will be there for you and Bellatrix" he smiled

"Thanks Nev, you're the best" Harry said and then pushed Neville into the pool. The rest of the day was spent fooling around in the water. Harry and Bellatrix left for home when the sun had started setting

Sirius found them laying on the couch in the study and sleeping. He was glad that they both were having a better summer than they had had in their entire lives. He left them there and had Kreacher prepare him something to eat.

Most days had been filled with either training, studying or relaxing. Bella had made sure Harry had clothes that suited him and fitted him before they left for the train back to Hogwarts. Sirius had taken him to the doctor the day before they returned to Hogwarts.

"Hi Harry, I've been expecting you" she smiled

"Hi Healer Smith" he smiled

"Call me Mary please, this isn't Ministry business" she smiled

"Okay Mary, so what all would you like to do?" he asked looking at the potions she had set out

"Three things actually Harry; the first is to fix your eyes which will take the longest of the three, then I'd like to address your scar and then I'll give you potions that I'd like you to take until Christmas break when I'd like to see you again" she smiled

"My scar?" he asked

"Yes, I've been talking to Sirius and he told me something's about visions and dreams. I have a theory and I'd like to try and heal that for you. Do you mind?"

"No, I do not mind at all. I mind that my Dogfather just decided to share information about me" he gave Sirius a dirty look

"He only does it because he cares, if that helps at all" she smiled at him "Now lay down because I'd like to start"

He followed her orders and laid down on the bed that she motioned to

"This may sting but after an hour you'll feel dizzy but the pain will be gone. Then we'll look at your scar. Now be still _Oculorum reparo_ " she cast on his left eye and then on his right eye. She continued putting potions into the box that he would use until Christmas break

The hour passed and Harry felt the pain disappear and then the dizziness set in, he waited patiently for her to let him up.

"Okay now while your eyes are still closed I'm going to take a look at your scar" she announced and started casting spell after spell on the scar. She went back her book case once more and opened another book.

"I knew it!" she shouted

"What is it Mary?" Sirius asked

"When I heard that Voldemort was back I started researching how it would be possible and it turns out you can make soul containers but they are very temperamental and need to be prepared very carefully. Voldemort's soul left a piece behind Harry's scar" she explained

"I have a piece of Voldemort in me?" he asked shocked

"A very small piece and I can remove it" she smiled

"Please do" he smiled

She set to work and Sirius watched as the scar opened up and blood and black goo oozed out of it. He saw Harry's face take on a very stern and stiff expression as she worked, Sirius saw the goo reach out to her but she managed to trap it a conjured vial. Within seconds it burst into flames within the vial, she cast a few healing spells on Harry and then allowed him to stand up

"How are you feeling?" she asked

"I feel light, it's like a pressure disappeared in my head" he said looking around "Everything looks so bright" he said

"The light sensitivity will pass in a few minutes" the healer smiled

"Thank you" he said and hugged the woman tightly "You don't know how much this means to me" he said stepping back again

"It's my pleasure Harry, now come and look at these potions" she said stepping closer to her desk "I've labelled them all with a date and either an E or M for evening or morning"

"I'll stick to them religiously" Harry smiled

"Good. Stay safe Harry" The Healer smiled and escorted them out

Sirius treated Harry to some ice cream and bought Bella a Firebolt as her new broom remembering how she loved flying as well.

All in all it had turned out to be a fantastic day.

The following morning the Black Family was packed and ready for the new year at Hogwarts, Sirius gave both teens a communication mirror and a book on occlumency. They boarded the train and found the compartment that Neville, Susan and Hannah were in and sat down with their new set of friends. Harry cast a Notice-me-not charm and a silencing charm on the door

"That'll give us some privacy till we get to Hogwarts"

"So all the homework done Bella?" Neville asked

"Yes thankfully, Harry made a fantastic partner" she smiled

"Sure he did" Hannah joked

"I did too, I did have muggle relatives disrupting me at every turn" he said

"Are all muggles like them?" Neville asked now knowing what Harry had been through

"Not at all Nev, we'll arrange a muggle field trip for you three once we're on Christmas break" Harry said

"That would be great, I've always wondered how it is for Muggleborns" Susan said

"Most of them have peaceful and loving family homes just like any wizard born" Harry explained

"So are you going to get resorted Bella?" Susan asked

"I am, McGonagall said I should sit with Harry until the first years have been sorted" she explained

"Don't worry I'll keep you safe from those mean Gryffindor's" he smiled and pulled her closer causing the other three teens to share a look

 **AN – And on to Hogwarts we go!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN – You guys are fantastic. It's always a pleasure writing for such supportive readers.**

 **Let's head onto**

 **Chapter 6**

Harry and the group made it into the great hall without incident, mainly because they avoided the Weasleys and Hermione and they didn't run into Malfoy. Bellatrix sat in between Harry and Neville as agreed; she was getting looks from the other students.

"It's not just you Bella, it's all three of us. I have my parents back, Harry is the Chosen one and you're back to being a teen" Neville pointed out "And all three issues made headlines"

"It's just weird, it wasn't like this in my forth year. I managed to slip unnoticed" she explained

"Well you're running around with Harry now and he doesn't do 'unnoticed'" Neville laughed

"I can go unnoticed. Trouble just finds me" he defended

"Of course it does Harry" Bellatrix said patting his knee

They watched the first years get sorted and then the Headmaster stood but didn't vanish the chair and hat yet

"A second chance at life is a rare thing, some would even say that it is impossible. Today however we see that it is not so, Bellatrix Black once more walks the halls of Hogwarts. After using her knowledge to free Sirius Black and herself the effects of a very dark potion took place and she was left with no knowledge of the acts she was forced to commit. The staff and I have decided to allow a resorting to take place; Ms Black if you will" he motioned to the chair

She stepped forward and sat while McGonagall place the hat on her head

" _Welcome back Ms Black_ " the hat spoke in her head

" _Shall we get you resorted then? Hmmmm the need to be place in Slytherin has slipped from your head unlike the first time. Ahhh a new family I see_ "

Harry watched on; he didn't know what he'd prefer for her. He only knew that she shouldn't be in Slytherin again, not with Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle in the house. He was dragged out of his thoughts when the hat shouted "Hufflepuff!"

He clapped knowing that Susan and Hannah would be there for her; she smiled at him as she walked passed where he was sitting and sat down between the two girls. The feast commenced and as soon as the food appeared so did his old friends

"Hey Harry, we we're looking for you on the train" Hermione smiled

"Are you still listening to the headmaster?" he asked

"Harry he knows best regarding…" she started

"I'll take that as a yes. Next" he looked at Ron

"Mom says Dumbledore knows…" he also started

"Another Yes. Next" he looked at Ginny

"No Harry I just want to be your girlfriend" the younger girl blushed

"Though I'm flattered Ginny, I am not interested. Friends?" he asked to which she just nodded and look defeated

"Harrikins you know…" the first twin started

"…That we hardly listen at all" the second finished

"We didn't know how bad it was and we thought these two were sneaking you information" they spoke together and looked sorry

"It's okay guys. My ex best friends should have known better, they _knew_ all about how I was treated at that place" he looked at Ron and Hermione

"We're sorry Harry" Hermione apologised

"Will you follow the Headmasters instructions?" he asked

"Yes" she said without a break

"Then I don't accept your apology" he stated and turned to Neville

Supper went by and Neville discussed their summer assignments and ignored the rest of the table. Harry and Neville then escorted the three girls to the Hufflepuff and went back to their own common room.

"Oi Potter" Seamus slapped Harry on the shoulder "Mom says she's awfully sorry for doubting you" the boy said and sat on his bed

"How was the holiday Harry?" Dean asked

"It was much better, Sirius was cleared of charges and now I live with him. We've been training" Harry spoke about how he had visited Longbottom manor as well

"Manor?" Dean asked shocked

"Yeah" Neville said still shy about the wealth his family had

"Dean have you visited a wizard home before?" Harry asked remembering his conversation with Susan and Hannah

"No I haven't Harry, you inviting me over" he asked a little cheeky

"Sure, maybe over Christmas break? We were talking about the muggle world with these poor purebloods and they're clueless" Harry said

"Wow, sure that would be great Harry" Dean said excitedly

"Think I could come too Potter?" Seamus asked

"Why haven't you asked before?" Neville asked the room

"Uhm Harry was always with Ron and he was always unpleasant whenever suggested inviting you somewhere" Dean shrugged

Harry was about to respond when the redheaded boy walked in.

"There you are. Why were you so rude to Hermione?" Ron shouted

"I wasn't rude, I just had enough about being kept in the dark. I need friends who will stand with me no matter what" Harry calmly explained

"We stand behind you" Ron defended

"No you don't. You stand with me when Dumbledore says it's okay" Harry still calmly dismissing his defence

Harry grabbed toiletries and made his way to the shower instead. Harry enjoyed his shower and leaving his hair damp pulled on a vest and a pair of pajamas pants. He threw his dirty washing in the hamper and saw that Ron had left the room again

"We thought you'd grab him by the collar and beat him Harry" Dean laughed

"What happened to that Potter temper we've gotten used to?" Seamus asked laughing too

"Harry has calmed a lot guys. I'm worried maybe we should take him to madam Pomfrey" Neville said causing the room to burst into louder laughter

"Very funny" Harry muttered and crawled into bed

Everyone was discussing what they'd like to do in the muggle world or wizard world and the room felt much more relaxed than it ever had to Harry.

Bellatrix was having a pleasant evening as well; the Hufflepuff students had accepted her and were doing their best to make her feel welcome. She shared rooms with Susan, Hannah and Leanne; the third girl seemed more interested in spending her time with the older years.

Bella had unpacked and was discussing how her first 4 years at Hogwarts had been, the girls had quickly realised nothing besides the defence teacher had changed over the years. Hannah had suggested they go to bed when she checked her watch and the other three easily agreed. Bellatrix lay in bed thinking about Harry in the Gryffindor common room and having to deal with Hermione and Ron, she hoped he was okay.

Sirius sat in the study going over vacancies when his floo roared and Amelia stepped through with a bottle of wine in hand.

"I hate going home to that empty home" she said

"I miss their noises, it's too quiet now without them" Sirius agreed

"Looking for a job Padfoot?" she asked seeing the newspaper

"I am" he admitted

"We always need Aurors and hit wizards" she suggested

"Let me think about it okay? I might only do it until Voldemort is defeated" he said

"Most of the new recruits are stating the same"

They spoke about her plans for the war and his time in Azkaban, by the end of the night they had finished much more than the one bottle she had brought with her and their relationship was mending once more. Amelia left around twelve stating that she needed to get back home so she could get some sleep before work the next day


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The first week had flown by without much incident; Ron had tried to make Harry feel bad again but Dean had cut him off before Ron could get close enough. Harry and Bella spent most of their free time together and with their friends; they had amassed quite a group including the twins, Susan, Hannah, Dean, Seamus, Ginny and Justin Finch-Fletchley.

It was the morning after the welcoming feast when the woman in the pink cardigan showed up and gave her speech about the declining standards at Hogwarts and how the Minister had seen it fit for her to be the new defence professor which caused Harry to chuckle.

So far she hadn't said anything inflammatory to Harry but he found the coursework terribly boring and useless. Hermione and Ron had gotten themselves detentions when they asked about practical applications of spells and started an argument with the woman. Harry shook his head; Sirius had managed to help Harry curb his tendency to flare up in a rage, instead he ran. Every morning for an hour and thought about his next move or how he would react in certain scenarios.

It was the last class on Friday where he sat watching Hermione go toe to toe with a Professor for the second time that week and wondered why she couldn't do it against Dumbledore. He missed her as his friend but she had neglected him this summer and he still hurt from it.

"Sit down Ms Granger!" the woman shouted for what seemed like the fourth time for the class

"A war is coming!" Hermione shouted back "Tell her Harry" she looked to him for help

"I have nothing to say Professor" he said raising his hands in a calming and non-aggressive manner

"Harry! Voldemort is back and he is after you" Hermione shouted

"The Aurors are more than capable Ms Granger. Now sit down and that'll be another 50 points from Gryffindor!" she smirked when Hermione seemed defeated

"Well done Granger you've lost Gryffindor 500 points in one week" Malfoy laughed

The class continued reading their books but Harry had put his occlumency book on the inside and continued reading that instead. Practicing his breathing had become second nature to him and focusing had become easy. It clicked then, the piece of Voldemort's soul had been affecting him more than he remembered or suspected. He pulled out a new piece of parchment and wrote down everything that had changed for him

 _Focusing easier_

 _Sleeping better_

 _No headaches_

 _Much less angry_

 _No nightmares_

 _No visions_

 _No scar pains_

Folding the note and slipping it in his pocket once class ended he decided to find Bella before their next classes to give her the note.

"Harry wait up" Dean called

"What's the matter Dean?" he asked

"Nothing, we have Herbology next with the Puffs I thought we could sit together?" he asked

"Sure I forgot Herbology was next. I wanted to find Bella first" he smiled

"Okay, so why didn't you help Hermione out? She is right" he asked

"Dean does Professor Umbridge seem like a reasonable person to you?" he asked in return

"Not particularly. You'd have a better chance with Snape" Dean scoffed

"Exactly, so why would I try and help Hermione when she is choosing a losing battle?" he asked the taller boy

"So you mean we need to come up with an indirect plan?" Dean asked

"Exactly, tact is all we need Dean" he said walking into the greenhouse and found Bellatrix

"Hi you" he smiled

"Hey" she smiled back at him

He passed her the note that he had made and then class had started. Neville had been tutoring the group in Herbology so everything had been going much smoother this year for Professor Sprout in her Gryffindor/Hufflepuff class.

Sirius had finally gone to the Gringotts to sort out the Potter and Black estates on the last day of September. He walked into the bank and asked to see both the Potter and Black account managers; the teller was reluctant to have this request fulfilled but once Sirius showed the Goblin the keys he rushed off and set the meeting room.

"Mr Black, welcome. I've been waiting for your visit" Shortsaw grinned

"I, however, did not expect to be summoned" Griphook scoffed

"The Potter and Black families provide Gringotts a lot of business, so I will summon my account managers when I see fit" he said sitting straighter in his seat

"Apologies Mr Black I did not intend to cause friction" Griphook smiled now

"That's fine. I would like full statements for both accounts, all payments to be stopped immediately, all access to both accounts to be restricted to myself and Harry James Potter, access to the black account to be given to Bellatrix Black" he said and watched the Goblins get to work

An hour later he emerged from the bank having finished his business and thoroughly irritated Griphook with his superior demeanour. He sat down at his favourite table at Florean's and had some ice cream and read through the statements; the Black statements were dormant for 12 years only bank fees being withdrawn every month, recently he saw all his purchases to fix up Grimmauld place and treat the two teens. It was a straight forward account unlike the Potter account which was split into three separate accounts; a trust account for Harry, a jewels account and the main account. Sirius looked at the Jewels account and saw that it was basically a listing of jewels the Potter's had collected over the years but no movement had happened for the last 50 years. The main account had a management fee for the trust account and the jewel account added on to the main account which was charged every month on the last day and a payment to the trust account at the beginning of every year.

Then came the trust account which simply made Sirius mad, almost as mad as the night he went after Peter. Every year the entire vault was cleaned out, which was impossible because Sirius had known how much James had spent at Hogwarts and they had lived quite lavishly as a group of four off half of the amount Harry was receiving.

He finished his ice cream and went over to the book store

"Good afternoon Mr Black how can I help you?" the attendant smiled sweetly at him

"I'd like to know how my godson spends so much on books every year?" he demanded

"Uhm let me open the Potter account history" she said clearly intimidated by his anger "It seems that this year he purchased significantly decreased and last year he purchased 2 sets of fourth year Hogwarts curriculum books, 2 fifth year and 1 third year." She said and handed him a copy of the purchases

"Thank you and I apologise for the anger" he said and stormed to the next shop. Every shop was the same story and as the evidence mounted so did Sirius' anger. He checked the last line of the statement for every year and went back to the bank.

"I need to see Griphook" he demanded

Once he was led through to the office of the account manager and the door was shut he started shouting at the Goblin who shrunk lower and lower into his seat

"Whose account does the balance of the trust fund go into?" he demanded hoarsely

"Chief Warlock Dumbledore" the Goblin answered without checking anything. Sirius got up and made to leave but he turned back

"He was a child! Is a child! And you done nothing to protect him or advise him" Sirius shouted and then stormed out. He arrived at the Burrow a few minutes later and found Molly and Arthur at home.

"Ahh Sirius welcome" Arthur smiled

"I am disgusted in your family!" he started "Harry needed protection and loved, if you felt it necessary that he pay for it then you could have asked Dumbledore" Sirius quickly realised that Arthur was completely lost but one look at Molly answered all Sirius' question

"Stay away from him, I cannot believe it. I really can't" he said and apparated home


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Harry sat at breakfast the next morning and was chatting away with Neville and Dean about what he thought about the quidditch team's chances for the year when the owl post arrived. He saw the black owl of the Black family into the Hall. Harry saw it was carrying both a parcel and a letter. He relieved the owl of its packages and fed a piece of bacon before it left once more. He opened the letter and found two letters inside; one addressed to him and one addressed to Bellatrix

 _Harry,_

 _I'm glad to hear that you're having a better time at school this year and I hope my news doesn't sour it too much._

 _But firstly, I'd be glad to have Neville, Dean, the twins and Seamus over for the week before school opens again. We can definitely do some Muggle and Wizard activities to open both sets of boy's eyes to the other worlds_

 _My news, though troublesome and infuriating has been remedied already, is that over the last four years you were being robbed by Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore. Your trust vault was constantly emptied by both parties._

 _You are never to give your key to anyone. EVER!_

 _I have secured both our accounts and I'd like to take you to Gringotts over the Christmas break to ensure you're constantly kept up to date about the latest development and so we can visit your vaults._

 _I hope this doesn't affect your relationship with the twins as they were the only ones who knew about this way Dumbledore and Molly._

 _I'm sorry I wasn't in your life to prevent this pup. Another failure on my part_

 _Your silly and quick-to-anger Godfather_

 _Padfoot_

Harry had to read the letter twice before he reacted; he crumpled the letter and shoved it in his pocket before looking toward the staff table and unfortunately Dumbledore wasn't there. He stood, grabbed his parcel and Bella's letter and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table and delivered Bella her letter before making his way out of the hall. She saw him walking with his free hand clenched in a fist and decided to follow him before he done something that he would regret

She caught up with him going down the hall towards the Gryffindor common room; she unclenched his fist and held his hand. They entered his common room and sat on a couch where he told her about his letter

"I'm so sorry Harry" she held him close

"Why would they do that? If they would've asked I would have helped without a second thought" Harry said anger turning to disgust and sadness

"Because they're either proud or sly" she said rubbing his head "And don't for one minute think you deserved it" she said with a stern voice but smiled at him

"Thanks for comforting me, what does your letter say?" he asked

"Let's see then" she said opening her letter "Dear Trixie, I hope you're doing well. I'm glad you're having so much fun at Hogwarts this time round, you deserve it kiddo. To answer your question; Yes you should. I think you would be a great chaser and Hufflepuff will have an excellent advantage. Lastly I have added you to the Black family vault once again so you should be able to get something's from Hogsmead. Your four legged cousin" she read

"You want to play Quidditch?" he asked

"Yes I do, I love the sport" she smiled and they spoke about their favourite teams and why Seeker or Chaser was better. By the time other arrived in the common room to collect their things for the first class Harry had completely forgotten his anger.

"Open your parcel before we go" she said looking at the unopened parcel

"Okay Trixie" he smiled at her when she swatted his shoulder

"He knows I don't like when he calls me that" she feigned hurt

Harry obeyed and stripped open the package and found two new occlumency books, some sweets and two leather money pockets. They split everything in two and Harry stored his share in his trunk while Bella went to the Hufflepuff rooms to get her books

The two of them walked into charms just in time and took their seats only letting go of each other's hands when they needed to split up. Harry sat in between Seamus and Dean whereas Bella shared a row with Hannah and Susan.

Class went by quickly even though they had been covering a lot of theory that day. Professor Flitwick dismissed them and they went onto their next class where Harry planned on starting his plan for the defence teacher. Bella waved to him and gave a friendly smile which made him feel like her could conquer the world.

He followed Dean into defence class and took their seats; Professor Umbridge had given them a chapter to read once again and to make notes on it. Harry raised his hand after 10 minutes having timed it so that it appeared that he had read the chapter

"Yes Mr Potter" she smiled kindly at him since he was one of the students who never questioned her methods

"Professor I had an idea" he started "In second year Professor Lockhart had tried to start a duelling club…"

"That seems very dangerous Mr Potter, I hope that is not what you are suggesting" she seemed a little disappointed, maybe he was a trouble maker she thought

"No no Professor. I wouldn't want Madam Pomfrey to have her hands full with poorly casted spells." He said shaking his head like that was the worst idea in the world

"What do you suggest then?" she asked curiously

"I was discussing it with Dean and we've both been raised by Muggles who have these game shows where you perform tasks or answer questions to win points and perhaps, as wizards with the help of a Ministry official and Professor, we could come up with a better concept?" he said "I couldn't think of anyone better to ask" he added

"That sounds very interesting" she conceded. The minister would be pleased with her report this week "What were you thinking about?" she asked clearly interested now

"I think what Harry means is that we could…" Hermione started

"Shut it Ms Granger, for a prefect you have lost your house an extraordinary amount of points" she screeched

"I thought that we could start off with a setup where in each class you could ask us a question and the first house to answer it could get a point and for an extra point they could perform the spell? Of course if you feel that you can't control the students we shouldn't do it" he said sincerely

"No Mr Potter I think that is a fantastic idea, we could keep a score and at the end of the year we could award the winning house with something for their common rooms" she smiled "Ministry funded of course; the ministry does care about your education" she said already making plans to present it to the Minister as her idea

"Whatever you think is best Professor" Harry smiled

"I'll speak to some of the other Professors about warding an area of the classroom in case something went wrong" she smiled and made notes

"That's all I wanted to say Professor. Thank you for taking time out of the lesson to listen to my proposal" he said and turned back to his parchment

"50 points to Gryffindor for respect and initiative" she announced

Harry handed Dean a piece of paper and smiled while continuing to read his occlumency book

 _Told you all we needed was tact_

 **AN – Two for today. Hope everyone enjoyed**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Hermione sat in the library trying to figure out how she had to go about showing Harry that he was wrong for rebuffing her since school had opened and instead he spent all his time with Bellatrix and Neville. She had to speak to the Headmaster and explain that she only done what he had asked and now she had found herself without friends and almost 600 points down because of that pathetic Ministry witch. Hermione had been getting tired of seeing Bellatrix in the Hogwarts common room too, she was in Hufflepuff why didn't she just stay there.

She slammed the book closed and packed her stuff up in a huff. She made her way to the common room and found Bellatrix sitting with Harry, she made her way over to them.

"Harry do you mind if I have a word?" she asked

"Sure Hermione, what would you like?" he asked not shifting from his seat

"Can we talk alone please?" she asked

"No, I don't keep secrets from my friends" he said calmly

"Okay, she needs to stop sitting in our common room." She pointed to Bellatrix

"And why is that?" he asked

"Because she is a Hufflepuff" Hermione reasoned

"Okay then, let's go to the Hufflepuff common room then Bella" he said and stood offering his hand to Bellatrix

"You don't have to go Harry, you're a Gryffindor and you deserve to be here" she said happy that she had won but her happiness faded when she saw Harry's face

"And Bella doesn't?" he asked harshly

"No, the hat placed her in Hufflepuff" she said quietly

"So the fact that she help free both Sirius and me at personal cost doesn't make her brave enough?" Harry almost shouted. There was a crowd gathering now

"That has nothing to do with…" she started

"It has everything to do with what we're talking about" he cut her off

"I'm looking out for you Harry" she shouted

"Looking out for me? How?" he asked

"She can't know everything, how can you trust her after everything she's done"

"And she used to be a dirty snake and death eater" Ron shouted pushing his way through the crowd but as soon as he made it to the front Harry punched him in the throat causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Now listen here you ignorant bitch" he turned on Hermione "If you say one more defamatory thing to or about Bella I will curse you until you don't know your first name" he stared her down hard

He turned to leave when he heard her speak again

"What was that?" he asked

"5 points from Gryffindor and detention with Filch for two weeks for assaulting another student" she said louder

"Go fuck yourself Granger" Harry said and left the common room

He walked side by side with a very quiet Bellatrix till they got to her common room door, Harry pulled her aside before they entered

"Talk to me" he said to her

"Does everyone hate me?" she asked with tears in her eyes

"No they don't. She just said that because she's losing her friendship with me; maybe in some part of her she thought we would be together but that's never been a possibility for me. You, Bella, are a wonderful young girl and whatever happened after you were married off doesn't matter to all of our friends. Neville already thinks you're the best girl in the world except for Hannah" Harry smiled at her

"What did I do to deserve you" she asked

"I'm the lucky one here, your support has made me better Bella" he said and gave her a hug

"Do you mind if I turn in for the night?" she asked

"As long as you promise that you're okay"

"I am, I've got such an amazing person in my life" she kissed his cheek and made her way into the common room where she found her friends

Harry stormed off to Professor McGonagall's office, he knocked and found his head of house sitting at her desk and grading papers

"Mr Potter, how may I help you?" she asked

"I'm here about reversing detentions given to me by Hermione Granger" he started and told her the entire story. She listened carefully and waited for him to finish before she answered him.

"I agree with Ms Granger, you cannot go ahead and physically assault fellow students but I do also agree that it was provoked. So no detentions but the deduction in points will remain; Mr Weasley and Ms Granger will receive punishments as well" she spoke

"Okay Professor" he said and left her chambers. He walked back to his dorm where he found his three male friends giving Ron a hard time about what he had said

"Don't tell me what to do" he said and took a swing at Neville but Harry caught his hand

"Do you want to get hit in the throat again Weasley" Harry asked sounding furious

"What are you doing Harry? We're friends" he whined

"We were friends, but that's over now" Harry said and pushed him away from the rest of them

"It's that crazy bitch she has you under some sort of potion" he said and started running when he saw Harry chase him. He barely made it down the stairs when he felt a foot kick him in the back causing him to tumble across the floor. Harry had his wand in hand and stood threateningly over Ron

"I warned you not an hour ago" Harry said menacingly

"Harry" George shouted

"Wait" Fred followed up

"We'll take care of him" they said together

"Gred and Forge I'm not giving him another warning" Harry said to the twins

"Thank you Harry" Fred said seriously

They dragged Ron out of the common room; Harry checked his watch and saw that it was after curfew. He saw Hermione watching the altercation

"Aren't you going to give them detentions for being out after curfew?" he asked and the common room went silent and waited for her response

"I didn't see anyone leave the common room" she said and stared back at him

"Bloody ridiculous" he said and went back up stairs

The room was silent, all four occupants going about their nightly rituals. Dean started laughing first and gasped for breath "Did….. You …. See….. His face" he continued laughing and soon Neville and Seamus joined in. Harry shook his head at his friends and smiled at them before getting into bed and drawing his curtains and falling asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Hannah and Susan sat in the stands with Harry and Neville and watched Bella's trails for the Hufflepuff team. Harry watched he carry her Firebolt onto the field and had her hair in a ponytail, she took to the skies and waited for instructions.

He had never watched chaser trials before and found it extremely exciting; they started with flying drills to weed out those taking a chance when they couldn't really fly. Bella was the quickest but it was no surprise as she was flying the best broom. Next they done shooting drills and she was second best because she missed a shot; she had gone to quick and then couldn't get the shot off in time.

The Hufflepuff captain called the Beaters onto the field and had the chaser hopefuls dodge bludgers and Bella was once again the best of the lot. They all landed again and then she flew over to them smiling.

"Made the team?" Harry asked smiling

"I did" she jump onto him "Thank you for the training" she said and kissed him as he turned to look at her. Her lips landed on his and they both froze for a moment when they realised what was happening; Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. They kissed until Neville cleared his throat to let them know that their friends were still there.

"Uhm sorry about that" Harry blushed

"No apologies, we've been waiting for this for two months now" Hannah smiled

"Yeah, shall we go to the Halloween feast?" Susan asked "I really crave some pumpkin pie"

Harry looked at his friends if they were crazy, he checked his watch and saw that the date was the 31st. How had he forgotten the date completely? He was answered when Bella moved in his lap; she had changed his life so much in less than four months. She was smiling at something Hannah was saying and he was lost in her face

"HARRY!" Neville shouted

"Whaaa?" Harry was surprised

"Do you want to go get cleaned up before the feast?" Neville asked

"Yeah let's go" he said and held Bella's hand while he carried her broom in the other hand

The group walked into the great hall and split up into their different houses; Harry and Neville found their seats next to Seamus, Dean and the twins. The feast had started and Dumbledore made announcements regarding the Quidditch tournament and when it was due to start

"Our first match will be Hufflepuff against Gryffindor" he smiled and waved his hands causing the food to appear. The twins were making fun of Harry and then shouted at Angelina about how Harry would throw the game. Next the Hufflepuff captain stood and thanked Harry for his willingness to give Hufflepuff the win causing his friends to laugh even more. The two houses tables seemed the most festive of the lot, which was easy since Slytherin perpetually scowled like their head of house and Ravenclaw acted like they were better than everyone else. Ron stood and immediately Harry could tell he was about to put his foot in his mouth

"Don't you dare! Your parents didn't die so that you could lose the Quidditch cup to Hufflepuff, they're a bunch of poofs" he said and laughed as if he was just joining in on the camaraderie

The two tables went dead silent which drew everyone else's attention

"Oh" George said

"Merlin" Fred finished

"What did you say?" Harry said and all the dishes, cups and cutlery started rattling violently

"Harry I was just kidding" he said still smiling not realising how far he had ventured over the line

"KIDDING!?" Harry shouted "How about I kill your family and joke about it? How about I scar you for life and joke about it? You imbecile" Harry shouted, waves of magic were rolling off him now. He pulled his wand but Dumbledore disarmed him so he stunned Ron with wandless magic causing everyone else to freeze in their seats.

He stormed out of the hall

Then he was running; no destination in mind just to get as far away from Ron as possible. He ran out the main doors and through the main gates. He continued running until he reached Hogsmead and then he continued running in the cold winds without any real protection against the elements. He ran while the tears streamed down his cheeks and then he stopped in the darkness of the night. How dare Ron? How dare Ron bring up the worst part of his life as a joke? He sat down, and tried meditating but he failed to get his emotions under control.

He well and truly hated Ron. The realisation stunned him, he had hoped deep down that he'd be able to patch things up with the Weasleys but it seemed hopeless now. He had lost his first two friends, he had done everything right. He had tried to please them but they had tossed him to the side upon Dumbledore's instruction, the same Dumbledore who had stolen from him.

Harry looked around and saw nothing but darkness and the Hogsmead lights in the distance behind him. He would have to walk back now, if he could only make himself appear back in Hogwarts. He closed his eyes and focused his magic and tried to apparated. He opened his eyes and found himself in the exact same spot, he got up and dusted himself off. He walked back to the Village; he was plotting the whole way. Ron would suffer for today, he would make sure of it.

He arrived back at Hogwarts in the early hours of the morning and saw that the entire staff was searching the grounds for him. He was spotted by Hagrid who gave him his coat and told him how worried everyone had been. When the main doors opened he saw Bella sitting on the steps; she looked up and saw him looking ridiculous wearing Hagrid's coat. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him

"I'm so sorry Harry" she cried into his chest "You don't deserve that"

"It's okay Bella, I'll get my revenge" he said rubbing her back "I'm done hoping for everything to go back to normal, Ronald Weasley will pay for everything he has said and done" he spoke softly to her

"Okay, just don't get caught. Sirius would never forgive you getting caught" she said

"Oh I won't, let me walk you back to your common room" he said handing Hagrid his coat back

"Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall shouted "we were worried about you"

"I'm fine Professor, or at least I will be. I'm sorry for causing such a scene" he apologised

"You were fully in your rights to cause one. Mr Weasley has detentions for the rest of the term and has lost Gryffindor another 100 points." She shook her head "Between Ms Granger and Mr Weasley I cannot see our house winning the House cup" she said walking away mumbling about being too old for this

"Here, Neville picked it up after you were disarmed" Bella said handing him back his wand

"Thank you Bella, I'm going to work on wandless magic now. Maybe I won't need a wand one day" he said as they reached her common room

"That was spectacular to watch, I hope you get it right" she smiled and kissed him softly

"I'll always be by your side" she said softly

"And that's why I know I'll be okay" he smiled

 **AN – Two chapters today. I hope everyone enjoyed it and reviews, any suggestions or comments on wandless magic will be appreciated. Also no Harry won't be overpowered but remember he is the chosen one so he will be more powerful than the average student.**

 **I accidently marked this story as complete when we can all tell that it is clearly not. I have corrected that and apologise for any confusion**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and PM's regarding the story. Please keep them coming**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Sirius walked into the book store and bought copies of _Wandless Magic Explained_ and _Wandless Magic: A How to_ and both were extremely thin and cost as much as the entire fifth year curriculum. He went to the checkout and saw the same girl behind the counter as last time

"Good morning Mr Black" she smiled brightly

"Good morning, just these two for me today" he handed her the two books

"Can I help you with anything else?" she asked still smiling

"No thank you" he handed her the money and her hand lingered a little longer on his hand

"Enjoy your day Mr Black" she called after him

He decided to get some things around the alley before his lunch with Amelia; in every shop he would be smiled at and touched, by the time he got to lunch Sirius Black felt well and truly bewildered. He sat down across from her and she just laughed at his face

"Are you okay Sirius?" she asked

"Something weird is happening Amy" he said looking around "I think someone has put a curse on me" he said sounding very paranoid

Amelia slid a copy of Witch Weekly over the table to him and he read the main headline which was under a picture of him and Harry "An available Wizard for every generation" and the way his face fell caused her to laugh even more

"It's not funny Amy" he said "These women have been touching me" he stressed

"Ah can't Padfoot take the attention?" she asked him as if he was a baby

"Can we just get something to eat?" he asked in a huff

"Aww don't ruin the fun" she said and called the waiter over

"Good afternoon, are you ready to order?" he asked and the couple ordered and away he went.

"Does it not bother you?" Sirius asked

"Why would it?" she countered

"I thought we were trying us again?" he asked curiously

"We are and my threat regarding cheating still stands" she smiled pleasantly

"Oh I remember that threat very clearly thank you very much" he said and felt pain in his groin already

"Good, now have you spoken to Harry lately?" she asked

"No, last I heard from him was after Halloween. He was furious but he is plotting like a Marauder" Sirius smiled

"Susan wrote me about the incident as well" she shook her head "Clearly Ron Weasley and Hermione are no longer his friends. Susan says Hermione has lost Gryffindor 600 points. You and James never came close to that in all seven years put together"

"I'm glad she's making a nuisance of herself, it means that less attention is being put on Harry" Sirius smiled "So has Susan written you yet about the last week of the Christmas Holidays?" Sirius asked

"Yes she has" Amelia answered smiling

"Will you come along? I don't know how I'll handle all those teens alone" he asked seriously and then gave her puppy dog eyes.

"Come on Padfoot you know that look has never swayed me" she laughed

"This dog is too old to learn new tricks" Sirius smiled at her

"Okay I'll tag along" she held his hand over the table

They were enjoying the lunch when they heard the explosions. Sirius and Amelia both had wands in hand and were onto the street before they knew it; there were about 16 Death Eaters sending Avada Kedavra's flying. Sirius took down three and Amelia six which caused the remaining seven to attack them; they took shelter in a doorway of an abandoned building. They fired off curse after curse trying to disable the pair but Auror's arrived and took down the remainder of the Death Eaters.

Sirius was helped up by Amelia who then went out onto the street and checked on the businesses. Sirius went into the store and settled their bill before he went and helped the wounded. He gave Amelia a bottle of water and made sure she was okay before he departed. He arrived at home and took the Floo to Hogwarts.

"Sirius what was so urgent?"

"We had an attack in Diagon Alley" he said "Lucius Malfoy was one of the Death Eaters we killed"

"I take it you came to warn Harry to watch out in case young Mr Malfoy acts in revenge?" she asked

"Yes, do you mind if I go find him?" he asked

"Sure, I'd wager you know the school better than most" she smiled

"See you Minerva" he said and stepped out of her office and down the halls of Hogwarts once more. The portraits watched him go and whispered to one another

Sirius saw Harry through the window where he was soaring on his Firebolt alongside Bella; he made his way down to the Quidditch field and watched them fly. He waited until they landed; they held hands as soon as they did. Sirius watched on curiously and waited for them to notice.

"Sirius" Bella shouted and ran over to him "What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see you two, how's the flying?" he asked

"It was fun, I'm still getting the hang of the speed. But Harry has helped a lot" she smiled

"I'm glad then. I'll come up for your first game, who are you playing?" Sirius asked

"Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor" Harry smiled

"Ouch, well at least it gets it out of the way early" Sirius laughed

"Yeah, so I'm sure you've noticed but I'd like to tell you. Bella and I have started dating" Harry said

"That's okay pup, just be careful please" he looked at them seriously

"We are, don't worry" Bella said

"That dear cousin is easier said than done" he shook his head "The real reason I'm here though is to warn you two; Amy and I were in the Alley today and manage to stop an attack. One of us killed Lucius Malfoy and I thought I should let you know before it's in the paper"

"Because you're worried Draco will try something?" Harry asked

"Exactly" Sirius said

"I've been watching him since we've gotten back, it seems like he is terrified of Trixie here" Harry said

"Don't call me that" she whined

"Okay, how's your training going?" Sirius asked

"I've been doing theory mostly, I don't have a sparring partner" Harry explained

"What about Bella?" Sirius asked

"Uhm she doesn't want to fight" Harry explained "She'd like to stay out of it"

"Okay, I think that's unwise but it's up to you Bella" Sirius said and gave her a reassuring smile

"I know it's not but I can't kill people Sirius" she said sadly

"Don't worry about it, just stay close to Harry please?" he asked

"I will" she smiled


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Delores Umbridge sat at her desk waiting for the Minister to floo call her but he was over an hour late already; she hated rule breakers but she knew the Minister was a busy man. She saw an owl sitting outside her window with a letter attached to it, she opened up the window and relieved the owl of it package and sat back down.

 _Dear Professor Umbridge,_

 _I am writing to you anonymously because I am concerned about the anti-cheating checks on homework. I have witnessed students colluding to get homework done and other purely abusing some for homework hours before it was due. This all occurs amongst the fifth years, as it is the OWL year I just wanted to save the Ministry and the School the embarrassment of failing a student who seemed to be passing all along_

 _Regards_

 _A concerned student_

Furious, didn't begin to describe the emotion the witch felt. Someone was getting away with this right under her nose. She immediately pulled out the latest fifth year defence homework and started manually checking over them and found six suspicious ones. She then went back and check those six student's homework submissions, and they were consistently copied. She gathered the papers and went to Professor Flitwick and had him perform the same exercise; they came to the same six people.

They then went to Professor McGonagall with their evidence; she was outraged that it had been happening without them picking it up over the two months

"I have no doubt that this has been going on longer than the year and we will not reopen previous years but we will punish those involved" she spoke not giving Dolores any room to disagree

"I shall be handing out the punishments" Delores added

"That's fine, may I make some suggestions?" Professor Flitwick asked

"Please do?" Delores asked

"Those who were copied from should have lesser punishments as they may have been coerced or bullied into it" he said "They would be the ones with consistent marks across the board"

"I shall hand out the punishments tomorrow at breakfast. Now I must be off, I need to call the Minister" she said and left the room

The next morning arrived too quickly for the Professors, they were shocked and appalled that they behaviour and managed to slip by them. They sat next to one another and watched the students filter into the great hall and sit down.

Delores Umbridge stood and faced the all

"Hem hem" she called for the halls attention

"Yesterday I was given some concerning news regarding the submission of homework" she started and Dumbledore stood to stop her announcement

"Professor Umbridge, can we discuss this in private" he asked

"No, we cannot. The minister has sanctioned these punishments along with three of the members of the board" she shouted which caused Dumbledore to sit down once more

"Ms Pansy Parkinson, Mr Gregory Goyle, Mr Theodore Nott and Mr Vincent Crabbe from Slytherin and Ms Hermione Granger and Mr Ronald Weasley from Gryffindor have been found to be sharing homework answers. It is the Minister's belief that Ms Parkinson, Ms Granger and Mr Nott were either unwilling or unaware of their homework being copied BUT since it cannot be proven they shall receive the following punishments. All three will serve detention for no less than a month once school reopens after the Christmas break, Mr Nott to serve two weeks more than the two females as they both will lose they title of prefect and all the privileges associated with it." She spoke clearly and her voice utterly pleased with the work she had done over night

Hermione was in tears whereas the Slytherin's merely hung their heads. Snape was furious and was glaring at his students.

"Mr Goyle, Mr Crabbe and Mr Weasley will be returned to Fourth year as their homework was incomplete without the answers they stole and the quality was horrid. They will be placed on academic probation, serve detention for the rest of the year and will have no Hogsmead privileges"

"Let this be a lesson to all those not willing to put in the hard work necessary to become a fine upstanding wizard or witch. Now I do believe it's time for breakfast" she said and looked to the headmaster who waved his hands causing the food to appear.

Harry dished himself a good breakfast and started eating while the rest of the hall still sat in silence and shock. Neville followed his lead and soon the rest of their friends did too; Ron sat at the table without an appetite, his disbelief was mirrored by both Crabbe and Goyle. Harry noticed that Malfoy was missing from the group and knew why; he also knew that the shocks weren't over yet. The owls flew into the great hall and chaos reigned once more, Dumbledore cancelled classes and sent everyone to their common rooms.

Harry walked beside Bella till the Hufflepuff common rooms and gave her a kiss and a hug.

"Was that you?" she asked before he left

"It was, and it was just the beginning" he answered seriously

"Remind me to never get on your bad side" she smiled and kissed him again

"You'll never be on my bad side, it's impossible" he said and watched her walk into her common room

He was on his way to his common room when he heard someone call him, more accurately they said "Potter" he turned and saw Draco Malfoy standing there looking shell shocked

"Malfoy" he said with a hint of malice and saw the blonde flinch

"I need your help; I promise you Harry I never knew that was the man my father was. I always thought we were better for being Pureblood because it's what he taught me. But he cut down Purebloods, how could he do that? They were businessmen and women just like him" Malfoy spoke, broken. He rambled on for a while still but Harry knew that Draco was being honest; no one could fake desolation like that. Then he done something that he'd never thought possible; he embraced Draco Malfoy and felt the sobs running through the boy's body and felt his robes get wet.

"Come with me we'll make sure you're okay" Harry said and pulled him into an empty classroom. He pulled out his mirror and called Sirius

"Hey Pup" he smiled

"Hey Sirius, I have Draco here with me" Harry turned so they both could see and be seen "He needs our help, Draco would you like to tell Sirius what you told me?" he asked and Draco went about telling Sirius everything, which involved some tears again, and Sirius listened carefully and enquired about Narcissa

"I don't think she's under the same potion as Bellatrix and she is currently still at home" he said

"Okay, I'm going to get her and come to Hogwarts. Go to Professor McGonagall's office in the meantime"

Sirius ended the connection and went about his tasks he had set for himself and met the two boys alongside Narcissa who ran and embraced Draco.

"So what do we do now?" Narcissa asked

"Well…" Sirius started


	13. Chapter 13

**AN – Hey guys and girls…**

 **Sorry for the massive delay, I've been out of country for work and couldn't write. But here you go**

 **Chapter 13**

Harry waited in the changing rooms; he heard the crowd going crazy outside. It was time for the first Hogwarts Quidditch game and for the first time in a long time Harry felt nervous. Bella had been nervous too, they had not eaten much that morning either.

"Ready for today Harry?" Neville asked

"Ready as I'll ever be, I just hope we don't lose and I can't wait to see how she flies" he smiled

"Geez calm down the lovey-dovey eyes" Seamus moaned "It's still way too early"

"Jealous?" Neville asked

"Maybe a little" Dean answered when Seamus was quiet and laughed

"Don't look now but Ron is watching you" Neville said casually dishing from a dish closer to Harry

"I think he blames me for being held back a year" Harry said

"He needs to stop blaming the world for his problems, apparently Ginny is doing better than what he is" Neville shook his head

Harry left the table and made his way to the locker rooms but was stopped by Draco

"I spoke to Sirius yesterday and he mentioned that he would like us to train together" he said

"I'd like that, I don't exactly have anyone to practice the theory's application with" Harry said

"My father taught me something's so I might be able to give you help that no one else can?" Draco said quickly

"That would be great Draco, we should speak to one of our heads of house to figure out where would be safest. If it's Snape you prefer to ask then you'll need to speak to him"

"I'll do it today during the game" Draco said with determination

"Thanks Draco" Harry said and shook the boys hand

"Oh and good luck with the game today" he laughed

"Why does everyone find it so amusing" Harry grumbled

Harry entered the room and saw the twins acting like clowns while the rest dressed for the game; he sat on the far side of Cormac and readied himself for the game. He didn't listen to Angelina's team talk which felt like it had been going on for forever; they exited the changing rooms and onto the pitch where the Hufflepuff players were already flying around. He watched Bella; she looked so graceful on her Firebolt. Harry took to the skies and circled the field before Madam Hooch set things in action. Harry took off actively looking for the snitch; he was glad to have Fred and George watching his back.

Lee was on the microphone and giving the audience a play by play with colourful commentary which irked their head of house and amused their fellow Gryffindors.

"Hufflepuff lead fifty to zero, Gryffindor doesn't seem to have an answer to Bellatrix Black. Harry seems to be looking for the snitch with more intensity than before. OOOOOHHHHH right in the stomach with a Bludger for the Hufflepuff captain but he seems to be carrying on. Bellatrix has the Quaffle once more and past the Weasley's but can Cormac keep her out? No he can't. 60 points now"

Harry spotted the snitch and went for it then, he ducked a bludger and took a wide arc around the Hufflepuff beater. He chased it vertically then, climbing as high as he could but the snitch was unbelievably fast and soared over the forbidden forest.

"It seems like the Hufflepuff seeker hasn't decided to follow Harry on his merry chase" Lee shouted

"Where's Harry?" Angelina shouted "He needs to end the game" when she saw the scoreboard.

Bella was having the time of her life, she had the answer to everything they had thrown at her defensively. The Weasley twins were too slow to actually get a hit in and she was too quick to be stopped or impeded. She had to thank Harry for the Flying lessons he had given her

She scored her eighth goal for the game when Harry came speeding back into the stadium still chasing the snitch. He was hit with a bludger against his leg but continued until finally he had caught it.

"Unbelievable. Harry Potter saves us! 150 to 140" Lee Jordan shouted "Saviour of Gryffindor" he roared

When Harry landed he was picked up by Fred and George who carried him around

"You did it Harry" Fred and George shouted

"Madam Pomfrey" he shouted back and they carried him to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey chased them out.

She healed his ankle and gave him a full check-up while she was at it.

"You seem to be physically better this year Mr Potter" she said "I'm sorry I failed you but the Headmaster always said that he had everything under control" she said sincerely

"It's okay Madam Pomfrey, I've been hearing that often. You've always kept me going" he said and smiled at her to let her know everything was okay

"You're something else Harry" she said and gave him a hug "If you ever need anything come and see me" she said and left him on the bed

He was glad she had chased the team away, he was exhausted after that snitch chase. It had given him the toughest time in his five years; and it was the closest score they'd ever had. He stood and stretched gently testing his ankle before taking a walk around the hospital wing. He waited for Madam Pomfrey to return but instead Bella walked into the room

"I've been looking all over for you" she said quietly sitting next to him

"Sorry, your beaters managed to damage me today and you almost made me useless" he smiled at her

"I'm sorry" she grinned "Not really though"

"You played excellently, Slytherin is in for a hell of a game" he pulled her close "I'm so proud of you" and then kissed her

"Thank you Harry, I thought you might be mad because Quidditch is your thing" she said snuggling into his side

"No, it can be our thing now" he said without a pause for thought

"Harry Potter I'm so lucky to have you in my life" she smiled

"We're both lucky, I couldn't imagine this year without you. Everyone would probably be calling me a liar and trying to avoid me while Voldemort gathered forces in the quiet. I'd probably be doing stupid and risky things but you ground me; you make me more sure of myself and you showed me that I needed to think my actions through before acting. So thank you Bella" he said and gave her a forehead kiss

 **AN – I hope everyone is enjoying**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 14**

The weeks that followed were all relatively quiet for Harry and Bella; they had no hassles with Ron or Hermione. Sirius had also been having relatively quiet weeks after everything regarding Harry's vaults and then the Draco and Narcissa issue. He had been spending a lot of time with Amelia and the two of them were growing close once more but she still kept him at arm's length; treating him as a friend and nothing more.

Draco's weeks had not been as quiet; he had faced quite a backlash from the Slytherin's regarding his sudden change of opinion but as the Aurors took down more Death Eaters who were his housemates parents he was left alone. There was a lot of grief and angst going around in the Slytherin common room; Theo and Pansy were constantly giving both Crabbe and Goyle a ton of shit. They weren't doing very well in fourth year either; the same as Ron, they tried to bully the younger years to give up homework but it wasn't working for them as the entire Gryffindor and Slytherin houses were making sure no further shame was brought to their houses.

Harry received his first summons to Dumbledore's office a week before the Christmas break was supposed to take place. He trudged his way up to the Headmasters office after convincing the rest of his group that he would be okay alone.

"Skittles" he mumbled and went up the stairs

"Harry my boy, thank you for coming. Lemon sherbert?" he offered

"No thank you Headmaster" he said politely

"Very well, how has your term been Harry?" he asked

"It's been so much better this year Headmaster" he answered politely once more

"I've seen the improvement in your grades, I'm proud of you" He said in a grandfatherly tone

"Thank you Headmaster" he said emphasising the Headmaster to let the old man know what role he fulfilled in his life

"Now Harry I called you here today to discuss your living arrangement for the Christmas break. I've noticed that you haven't signed on to stay here over the break" he said more concerned

"I'll be staying with my Godfather" he said starting to get angry now

"I'd rather you stay here Harry" he said firmly

"Noted" Harry said in a clipped tone

"I'll speak to Professor McGonagall then" He said cheerfully

"To confirm that I'll be on the express next week?" Harry asked

"I thought we'd settled this. You need to stay" Albus said irritated

"No headmaster, I understood that you wanted me to stay but I have plans and a family that I'd like to spend my time with" Harry said

"It's not safe" Dumbledore said

"Neither were the Dursley's" Harry said and left the room

He walked into the Gryffindor common room and found Bella sitting with Lavender discussing something so he left them be and offered a game of chess to Neville. When he told the story to Sirius a week later he would realise his mistake. Neville had been sitting close to Ron; who had heard chess and immediately started circling the game and giving suggestions to Harry. When Harry's king was taken Ron sprang into a tirade about poor tactics

"Why don't you go do your homework?" Neville said which caused embarrassment for Ron

"Don't you dare you squib" Ron tried to punch Neville but he was too quick

"Stop it" Harry said calmly but firmly

"You're not my boss, you can't even win a game of wizards chess and you claim to have defeated You-Know-Who" Ron shouted "You think you're the next Merlin and you're not, the only reason You-Know-Who is quiet is Dumbledore" he ranted

"Dumbledore keeps us all safe and knows what's best Harry, that's why Ron and I are staying for the Christmas break. Please stay with us?" Hermione asked

Harry started laughing; how had he missed this all along?

"Potter has gone mad" Seamus said to Neville

"No he hasn't, he is getting angry" Neville said and gripped his wand

Harry stopped laughing and looked around the common room and saw everyone was watching now; he took his moment.

"While I have everyone's attention" he said

"I have never claimed to defeat Voldemort when I was but a baby, that story was spread long before I even knew my own name. I didn't defeat Voldemort, yes for fuck's sake not You-Know-Who, in first year either, that was the protection my mother's love. And lastly he is back, that I promised you and he will attack" he announced

"What makes you so special then?" someone shouted

"I am powerful, don't doubt that" he smirked "And I know that survival is important but even more than that building a life and living it is paramount. For some reason he is after me and won't quit and I will do my best to make sure that he falls" Harry answered

"Powerful my arse, duel me here and now!" Ron shouted

"No" Harry said simply

"Coward" Ron goaded

"That won't work" Neville said shaking his head "Haven't you noticed that Harry has gotten his temper under control? He has become friends with more people in two months than in the four years prior and it's because he doesn't have either of you holding him back" Neville explained

"Leave him alone Ron and Hermione, he just wants to be normal; well normal as can be" Lavender explained then blushed

"Thanks Lavender and thank you to everyone who sees the change" he said and turned to walk away

"An honour duel to the death…" Ron started and the twins tackled him to the ground to stop him but Magic had already fulfilled his intent

A glow flashed over both boys

"Shit!" some of the purebloods said

"Oh no Ron, you're in so much trouble if he accepts" Neville said sadly

Bellatrix went straight to Harry side and explained what exactly Ron had said

"So if I say that I accept it we'll have to fight to the death?" Harry asked

"Yes" she said and took his hand

"Then no I do not accept" he said to Ron and the glow faded

"I knew you were a coward Potter" Ron snarled "A coward and a bitch, perfect for one another" Ron laughed

Bella had tears in her eyes and that infuriated Harry

"Do you really want death so badly?" he asked Ron fuming

"Like you could kill me" Ron shook his head

"I'm awfully close" Harry said menacingly

"Then accept my challenge. I, Ronald Weasley, challenge you Harry Potter to an honour duel to the death on the day school resumes!" Ron said confidently

"I accept" Harry said and took Bella by the hand and stormed out of the common room

Inside the common room there was pandemonium, Hermione had carefully explained to Ron there was no way out of this and that either he or Harry would die. Fred and George slumped back into their seats and looked like they had failed; which they had, they had failed to protect Ron from himself.

"I need to talk to Draco" Harry said pulling Bella along

"Harry wait" Bella said and pulled him back "Talk to me"

"I'm tired of him spouting off about you, you're not the same person who committed all those crimes. You don't remember them but we all still do and I've accepted what you've told us, I've fallen in love with you and yet he can't accept that you're trying or that you helped cure Neville's parents" Harry ranted

"You've fallen in love with me?" she asked

"I have" he said and held her close

"I've fallen for you too"

 **AN – I hope everyone is enjoying**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 15**

Sitting in Dumbledore's office with a crying Molly and a furious Sirius was awkward for Ron; how had he let the confrontation get out of hand like this. It was a week after the original confrontation and by now the entire school knew what had gone down in the Gryffindor common room.

"I have researched the subject and the challenge cannot be reversed. Both boys have to participate and I will arrange for it to take place in the great hall on the first day after the break. Now I should disclose that Mr Weasley has asked me to be his second and I have agreed" Dumbledore spoke quickly but Sirius was quick to his feet and punched the older man

"What type of game are you playing here Dumbledore?" he demanded

"I believe that Mr Weasley will not need my help but as I have always maintained, help is always available at Hogwarts for those who ask for it" Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled

"Thank you Albus" Molly sobbed

"You know that might mean my death right Mrs Weasley" Harry asked

"I don't care, as long as Ron is safe" she said coldly

"Stop paying people to be your friends and they'll show you their true colours Harry" Sirius said and led him out of the office

"We need to find Draco and tell him who his opposite number is" Harry said

"Okay but I want to talk to you pup" Sirius said "How are you planning on fighting?"

"Dirty, as dirty as I can. I want to make them question whether I'm going dark and that will keep them off my back" Harry answered to a smiling Sirius

"Then we need to get to work as soon as you arrive back home" Sirius said

"No, I'm working with Draco already. I will be using some of Lucius Malfoy's spell books until I get back home" Harry said

"What if you're disarmed?" Sirius asked

"I've been working on that too. I think I'll save that until we get home before I show you" Harry said as they walked up to the entrance of the Slytherin

"How do you know where the entrance is?" Sirius asked

"Long story, shall we just wait for him?" Harry asked looking around

"Yes I think so" Sirius said and leaned against the wall

They waited for a while as a few younger Slytherin's came out and immediately went back inside; Sirius laughed at their reactions and then Draco emerged

"You're scaring the first years" he said

"Yeah yeah, whatever listen here we may have a small problem" Harry started "Ron's second is Dumbledore"

"Shit really? The old man is really going to take that idiots side in this?" Draco fumed

"See he did take it worse than I did" Harry told Sirius

"I owe you a few Galleons then" Sirius said shaking his head

"So what do we do?" Draco asked

"We train, and I need those books we spoke about" Harry said

"You're really going to go through with it? Acting dark?" Draco asked clearly impressed

"Yes, yes I am. I hate the interfering and I hope it takes care of them" Harry said

"Okay I'll bring them over as soon as I can" Draco said

"Thanks" Harry said and shook his hand

The rest of the morning before the train left was interesting; Ron walked around the school like he owned it and boasted to everyone about how Dumbledore was his second. Once they all boarded Neville managed to ask

"Does he know that a second doesn't do anything until you can't continue duelling and that because it's a duel to the death a second is completely unnecessary?"

"I don't think he does, I think he thinks Dumbledore will do all the fighting" Harry said shaking his head

"Why did you ask me then? Oh right, you're 'going dark'" Draco smiled

"Exactly, and you're trying to find redemption so it's a win-win" Harry said causing Draco to laugh

"So the visit is cancelled?" Neville asked

"Unfortunately it has to be, Sirius wants me to train because he doesn't know what Dumbledore plans on showing Ron" Harry explained

"Good luck then" Seamus said and patted his shoulder

"Thanks guys. It's going to be a difficult fighting an ex best friend" he said and rubbed Bellatrix hand that he was holding

The train ride went by very quickly and soon Harry was back in Grimmauld place facing Sirius in the dungeon. Harry watched the sweat drop off Sirius brow; they had been training for nearly three hours now and Harry could feel his energy levels falling.

"Again!" Sirius shouted and attacked

Another hour later Harry was dead on his feet and Sirius looked just as exhausted. They both just sat down on the floor breathing heavily; Bella had heard the long pause and finally entered the room. She gave both of them a wet towel and a glass of juice.

"It's time for you to call it a night, come up I've prepared food" she said helping Sirius to his feet

"Great stamina Harry" Sirius said as they climb the stairs

"Thanks I guess"

"Where's Draco and Narcissa Trixie?" Sirius asked

"Waiting in the dining room" she answered politely

"Tell them to come through to the kitchen, we're not hosting a dinner we're just having supper" he said very grumpily

"I'll get them" Harry said and walked off to the dining room

He found Draco listening to his mother about their plans for the next day

"And then we need to go to Gringotts" she said

"Supper is in the kitchen not here, also you've dressed way to formally. We usually lounge around the kitchen area for supper" Harry smiled at them "I'm going to have a shower first so I'll see you there"

He left them there and got into his shower; he used the time to think about what needed to happen with Ron and the emotions he needed to bury for his ex-best friends. He washed his hair and noticed that it was getting longer than it had ever been. He got out of the shower and found Bella sitting on his bed

"You should make a pony tail" she said and gave him on of her hair ties off her arm

"Thanks, so what are you doing on my bed Ms Black" he asked

"Are you complaining?" she asked

"Not at all" he said and pulled her close and started kissing her and pulled her into the chair he had in the room. They heard footsteps on the stairs and jumped apart and Harry frantically dressed; there was a knock on the door and then Draco entered

"You've been gone too long" he said to Bella "You should go down and Harry and I will follow in a few minutes" he advised. Bella left and Draco pulled a thin book from his pocket

"This is the one you were asking about, I read through it and if you can do it you're going to shock the hell out of them" he grinned and handed Harry the book

"That's the plan" Harry smirked

 **AN – I hope everyone is enjoying**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN – Hey guys and girls. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.**

 **Here we go for**

 **Chapter 16**

Christmas morning was a pleasant affair for Harry, more so than any other year. He woke when Bella ran into his room and hopped onto his bed and kissed him

"Happy Christmas Harry" she smiled and snuggled against him

"Merry Christmas Bella" he smiled

"Let's go open presents" she said and hopped up and bolted from the room

Harry got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up before he went downstairs. When he entered the sitting room he saw that the tree was spinning in place and soft Christmas music was playing in the background. Sirius sat in his favourite chair with a cup of coffee and smiled at the teen when he entered.

"Happy Christmas Pup"

"Merry Christmas Sirius" he smiled and took a cup of cocoa from Kreacher

Sirius cast a spell on the tree which made it raise a little which revealed a mountain of presents

"I may have gotten carried away" Sirius admitted

"It's perfect!" Harry said and took a seat next to Bella

They spent the morning presenting gifts to one another; Harry had gotten Bella a necklace from the Potter vaults which would protect her from mind altering potions and minor curses. Sirius had gotten her a bracelet which done pretty much the same, the girl in question burst into tears and thanked them that they cared so much for her and told them that she loved her gifts.

She received a large pack of sweets, a broom servicing kit, new Quidditch gloves, and a wand holster, a set of earrings, a few new books, and some more jewellery from other friends. She watched Harry open his gifts. He never stopped smiling from the moment she had woken him but she could tell his mind was elsewhere

When he opened his wand holster a flicker of seriousness flashed across his face; she was glad they were entertaining later, hopefully it would take his mind off the whole Ron situation. He opened the rest of his gifts which included books from Draco and Narcissa, they had decided to spend Christmas at the Malfoy Manor and join them later for lunch. Harry received a ring from Sirius which had been in the Black Family since its creation.

After opening all the presents Bella checked with Kreacher that all the food was being prepared and then made her way upstairs so she could get cleaned up before their friends arrived. Sirius waited till she vanished from sight and then spoke to Kreacher

"I know Trixie has told you that you're cooking for eleven people but there are going to be so many more. We'll be closer to thirty people, so if you could prepare the large dining room with seating for thirty that would be great. Also don't breathe a word of this to Bella" He smiled at the elf

He left the room and went upstairs to change and then left the house to fetch his guests; first he stopped over at the Thomas household and picked up Dean and his parents, then over to the Finnigan house and picked up Seamus and his mother. He arrived back home and saw that Neville and Susan were waiting in the sitting room with Frank, Alice and Madam Longbottom. Hannah arrived with her parents a few moments later and joined the group in having a few drinks and chatting away. Harry descended the stairs tying his hair back with his new silver hair tie which was a snake which coiled on itself to form the hair tie.

"Why is it so noisy" he said and entered the room seeing all the smiling faces

"Happy Christmas Harry" they wished him and he got lost in the crowd Fred and George arrived shortly after he had come downstairs and brought him a bunch of gag gifts. They apologised for Ginny not being able to come along as she was being grounded for not helping Ron with homework.

Sirius saw Narcissa and Draco arrive with Ted, Andromeda and Dora. The group looked just as shocked to see such a full room; which was only made worse when Amelia arrived with Kingsley and Remus.

Bella had wondered what all the fuss downstairs was about while she was dressing; she chose a beautiful dress and got done quickly so that she could investigate. She descended the stairs and walked passed the dining room and saw that Kreacher had not set the table yet, Sirius must be stopping the elf from doing his work again. She rounded the corner and saw the large dining room looking so beautiful; she smiled and knew Sirius had been scheming for a good reason. Sirius led everyone into the large dining room

"Happy Christmas Bella" he whispered to her

"Thank Siri, for everything. It's been the best few months of my life" she beamed

"No problem kiddo, now go greet Andy I'm sure she'd like to see her sister" he said and gave her a nudge

The afternoon was pleasant and filled with laughter; mostly caused by Remus, Sirius, Fred and George who shared tales of Hogwarts. Harry had never laughed as much as he did that day; he looked around the table and saw that Sirius had done exactly right in freeing them from the plans of Albus Dumbledore. He stood and raised his glass

"A toast" he started "To Sirius Black, the man who freed himself with the help of Bella. May he be successful in all his endeavours" he smiled

"Thanks Pup an thank you to everyone who came today. This can become our tradition and when we get too big we'll move it to Longbottom Manor, I'm sure it hasn't seen a Marauder party yet" he grinned at Frank

"Sure, let's have a New Year's eve ball there then" he cheered

"Fantastic" Harry said and smiled at his friends

They aid farewell to their friends and soon Harry and Bella found themselves alone in the sitting room sharing a large one person sofa. She looked into his eyes and smiled at the boy she loved beyond measure

"I love you Harry James Potter" she said and kissed him deeply not wanting to see if he didn't return he words. When they parted he smiled and kissed her forehead

"I love you too Bellatrix Black"

 **AN – I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas day and having time to review amongst all your presents and festivities.**

 **Also I wanted to mention this earlier. How good was Fantastic Beasts and where to find them? I thoroughly enjoyed it, the entire cast gave a stellar performance. And seeing the wonderful world of JK Rowling back on the big screen was awe inspiring.**

 **Also I gifted myself the screenplay for Christmas and I can't wait to have a read through it. Have a good day everyone**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN – Hey guys and girls. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.**

 **The one we've been waiting for**

 **Chapter 17**

Harry boarded the train with Bella and found their friends for what would be their quietest trip back to Hogwarts. Harry sat and read while Bella watched him for any signs of weakness or panic; Neville frantically completed an essay for transfiguration which had slipped his mind and the rest of the group didn't trust themselves not to ask about Ron and what Harry planned on doing. Draco sat looking out the window wondering if Harry could really bring himself to do what he had planned.

They arrived in Hogsmead and found a few carriages to climb into and resume their silence; Bella now held Harry's hand tightly and tried keeping back her tears. He sensed her distress and rubbed circles onto the back of her hand with his thumb, he hadn't said a word to anyone since boarding the train. He needed to do this, he needed to show them he was not to be messed with and that he understood magic better than they did; if it worked they wouldn't be bothering him about his abilities. They entered the great hall and found that it looked like a gladiator arena inside, with stands all around the walls and a warded pit in the middle. Harry saw Sirius sitting next to McGonagall and Flitwick; he knew Sirius wouldn't stay away from this. The same way Molly and Arthur wouldn't stay away either. What surprised him was that the entire Weasley family was there, Aunts and uncles, Grandparents and cousins all stood ready to support Ron.

Dumbledore stood in the middle of the pit and set off a bang to get everyone's attention

"A sad day is upon us today. Two friends will fight to the death because clearer minds did not prevail. Mr Potter and Mr Weasley if you will" he said and motioned for them to join him

The sight could not have been more contrasting; in walked two boys. One dressed in hand me down robes which showed aging in both style and wear; the other dressed in pristine black robes which were the highest quality and style. One looking over-confident and ready for a fight whereas the other looked humble and showed and an aversion to the fight

Harry stood across from Ron and waited for Draco to join him

"Mr Potter has asked Mr Malfoy to be his second and I have agreed upon request to be Mr Weasley' second" he spoke "Professor Flitwick if you will?" Dumbledore said

"The duel will end when one competitor dies, now get ready. Three… Two… One… Begin" the tiny professor said

Ron immediately started firing off curses that Harry had never seen before, he dodged them all. Ron just got angrier and fired off curses all over. Harry was glad for the warded area otherwise many people would have been hurt by Ron's curses; Harry watched the faces of the audience and saw that they all were getting frustrated by his lack of action. This really felt like a gladiator match to Harry, they were here for entertainment and not because they cared about the principles they were fighting about. Forgiveness for those who weren't doing evil deeds because they want to but because they were being forced to do it. Harry was getting angry but he reigned it in and dodged another stunner.

"Fight me Potter" Ron said smirking

Harry shook his head and sheathed his wand; he closed his eyes and then he became smoke and rapidly encircled Ron who waved his hands like a madman trying to get Harry off him. The audience just saw a pitch black smoke with green streaks.

Bella was shocked, was this what Harry had been working on all those nights when he locked himself in the training room? She watched as Ron's wand was taken from him and then burnt up in the smoke, then Ron was thrown backward. Harry reformed in front of him and then lifted Ron up from the floor

"Headmaster I'm unable to continue help me" Ron pleaded

"Stay where you are Headmaster, Mr Weasley can still defend himself" Flitwick shouted

Harry dropped Ron onto the floor and shook his head

"And I'm the coward" Harry shouted "You pressed for this duel, now you'll finish it" Harry said and threw Ron his very own wand. "Stand up and fight" Harry shouted

Ron resumed his fight but couldn't touch Harry, who was now sad for Ron. He had to try it; so he dissolved again and took his wand back and knocked Ron off his feet once more. Harry reformed again and reached down for Ron but this time he pulled a black form from Ron. It stretched and fought against Harry but he had a firm grip on it

"What have you done!?" Ron shouted and picked up Harry's wand

He tried firing off curses but nothing happened

"This is your magic Ron" Harry said showing them the figure in his hand

"Give me my magic" Ron said but Harry stuck out his hand as if asking for something and then the sword of Godric Gryffindor appeared in his hand.

He shoved the sword in the figure which immediately let out a shriek which caused everyone to cover their ears. The figure imploded on itself and then disappeared, Harry walked out of the arena with the sword in hand

"Mr Potter can I have the school's sword?" Dumbledore shouted

"Call it?" Harry said holding out the sword

"What do you mean?" he asked

"It's alive, it has part of Gryffindor's soul in it" Harry said

"Give it to me Mr Potter" he shouted again

Harry took the sword and then threw it into the ground right in front of Dumbledore

"All yours" he smirked and watched Dumbledore try to pull it out of the ground and fail miserably

"What have you done?" he asked breathlessly

"I've always like the tale of King Arthur and Excalibur" he said "Since Ron always talks about how I think I'm Merlin I was reminded of it"

"The duel is not over Mr Potter"

"Yes it is" Harry said simply

"Mr Weasley can still fight" Albus said and lifted the redhead to his feet

"Headmaster I can't cast a spell" Ron said defeated "He took my magic and destroyed it" he sobbed

"This fight is over" Flitwick said after casting a few spells "There are no further bonds between the two students"

"What about my magic?" Ron shouted "Am I a squ squid?" he stuttered

"Yes…" Albus began

"No you're not" Harry shouted "Squibs have some magic in them, you have none. Less than a muggle in fact" Harry said

"How could you do that?" Ron shouted

"You didn't deserve magic" Harry

"Please Harry?" he begged "Please give it back to me Harry, I'll do anything" Ron cried

Silence rang all through the hall, everyone listened to the redhead boy crying and pleading. He sobbed like a child and reminded all the adults in the hall that two children stepped into the hall to fight to the death

"You should have thought of that before you insulted Bella, before you listened to Albus Holier-than-though Dumbledore, before you didn't think for yourself. It's too late, completely too late" Harry said and then left the hall

 **AN – Two for today everyone**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 18**

Harry sat next to Bella at the Hufflepuff table and was writing down a few notes for her to use when someone tripped over the sword of Gryffindor which was now right in the middle of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. He gave her the notes which she slipped into her Occlumency books; Harry had Sirius sent them another set of the books since his fight with Ron because Dumbledore had been calling Harry to his office night for a discussion about how he took Ron's magic.

"What time is your meeting tonight?" Bella asked

"It's supposed to be at seven but I'm not going, instead we're going to go find a broom closet" he smiled at Bella

"Hmmm sounds like a plan" Bella smiled

"We have defence first so I'll see you later" he said and gave her a kiss and joined Dean walking to class

They arrived in defence class and Professor Umbridge sat at her desk watching the class fill up; she was appalled at Dumbledore's running of the school, how could he allow a duel to the death. If it wasn't for Mr Potter thinking outside of the box Mr Weasley would be dead

"Good morning, I'd like everyone to think about the duel that took place the other day. It was a horrible example of what shouldn't be happening at a school. Students should be safe at school, it's an environment for learning and not fighting" she said

"Professor that hasn't been the case for Harry" Dean said

"Is this true Mr Potter? Have you not felt safe at Hogwarts?" she asked worried

"Well Professor, I'll tell you about my first four years and then you tell me how I could feel safe" he waited for her to nod before he continued

"First year I'm thrust into a world I know nothing about and everyone knows my name because I've apparently defeated the worst Dark Lord in history. Later in the year after taking my concerns to my head of house I take two of my friends and we stop the Dark Lord from returning to his body" he started

"Then second year there's a Basilisk roaming the halls and everyone is blaming me for it, the same guy who defeated Voldemort is now a murdering Dark Lord. Third year I'm once again a target of a murdering maniac who turns out to be my godfather and there are Dementors on the grounds who make me relive my parents deaths over and over again. Then last year I'm forced to participate in a tournament designed for people with 3 years more magical experience and training"

"So Professor, no I don't feel safe and sound at Hogwarts" he finished

"None of that was reported to the board or the Ministry" she said frantically making notes

"I wouldn't have thought it was" he said shaking his head

"Dumbledore had his reasons" Hermione interjected

"And what were those?" Harry asked

"To keep us safe" she said unsure if herself

"Safe?" Harry shouted

"Yes" she said sounding more confident

Professor Umbridge didn't dare stop Harry; she was terrified of him now, he could take someone's magic from them.

"Safe from fucking what?" he ranted

"Voldemort" she said

"Hermione, for the smartest which in our class you're being frightfully blind" Harry said "He hasn't protected us at all. Yes he is a deterrent and yes that does help but so do the magical enchantments around the castle. I've nearly died thrice at Hogwarts, does that seem normal to you?" he asked

"Dumbledore didn't make you do…" she started

"So what then? I should have left it up to people who clearly don't care about the students?" he asked

"Dumbledore would have acted when it was time" she said completely believing that Dumbledore wouldn't let things get out of hand

"Do you know that we would have had two Voldemort's to deal with, Ginny would be dead and there would be a maniac with a Basilisk at large" he shouted now "Dumbledore does not know best! He is an arrogant fool and he will be the reason many people die Hermione and you need to open your eyes before it's too late"

"What does that mean?" she asked "Are you going to take my magic too?" she challenged

"No, it means that you're busy following someone to the grave" he said and shook his head "When he dies you'll be left alone in this world. The Ministry sees the problems here at Hogwarts but you don't? Is it because the system works for you? Because you're on top? Because it doesn't work for the rest of us, when a teacher hates you because of who your parents and godparent is or because you're not from his house. When a head of house dismisses students and their valid concerns? When we've had five different defence against the dark arts teachers in five years? When bullying runs rampant and no one intervenes? How does good grades justify that?"

She remained silent now

"Answer me!" he shouted

"What do you want me to say? Grades is all I have" she cried

"They aren't, you had me as your best friend. I would have literally died for you Hermione but you didn't see that and now you've lost that friendship. Stop blindly following Hermione, question everything" Harry said and then the bell rang

"5 points to Gryffindor" Professor Umbridge said "For a faith in the Ministry's intervention and for providing information which will assist in Hogwarts reaching international teaching standards" she smiled and sent them off to their next class

Sirius met Amelia in the Ministry atrium and she took him upstairs so they could get him reinstated; he had decided that if Harry was going to fight so was he but that being an Auror would be more helpful. They went into the Law Enforcement offices and everyone's heads turned to look at him

"Everyone, we'd like to welcome back Sirius Black in our ranks. He served with distinction before his false imprisonment and would like to make his services available once more." Amelia handed Sirius a badge and a set of Auror robes

"Thanks Amelia, I hope I do you proud" he said seriously

"I know you will, can I speak to you in private?" she asked and led him into her offices

"What's up?" he asked

"Two things Sirius, one you need to cut your hair. I need you as a senior member and I need you not to look fresh out of Azkaban" she explained

"I'll get it done today" he promised

"And then the more sensitive issue, we'll have to put us off until Voldemort is defeated. We can't date if I'm your superior" she explained to him in a saddened tone

"As soon as he is defeated Amy, and I mean the second Harry kills him I will find you" he promised and gave her a kiss on her cheek

"I'll be waiting" she smiled at her Padfoot

 **AN – I hope everyone is enjoying**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 19**

"Yield yield" Draco said panting

"You're getting better" Harry said and sat down on the floor

"You need to broaden you spell knowledge, stop using the same chain" Draco said "It's predictable and if I was faster I'd be able to find a chink"

"Fair enough, I want to start summoning snakes though. Since I'm the only other Parseltongue fighting; I can use it against anyone who isn't Voldemort" Harry said

"They would be excellent distractions as well, how big do you think you could go?" Draco asked

"Maybe Basilisk? It would be difficult though, I'll try tomorrow morning when I'm alone" Harry said standing

"Going somewhere?" Draco asked him

"Yeah I have to meet Bella soon" He said and stretched once more and then left the room

It was three weeks after his rant directed at Hermione. He walked towards the Gryffindor common room and saw Aurors streaming into the building; he pulled his wand sensing danger. He calmed tremendously when he saw Sirius; who looked completely different with his hair cut.

"Hey pup, stop staring at my hair" Sirius said "And put your wand away you're not in danger"

"What happened to your hair?" Harry asked

"I cut it, I'm a senior Auror now" Sirius said "Now I should go arrest Snape" Sirius said a bit too gleefully and led his group down to the dungeons

Bella found Harry in the crowd that had gathered; she watched along with the rest of the school as Professor Snape was escorted from the premises in magic inhibiting cuffs.

"What's happening?" she asked him

"No idea, Sirius just told me that his group was here to arrest Snape" Harry shrugged

"Amelia is here as well making her way through the castle and handing out summonses to the teachers" Bella said

"Let's go it's almost lunch, maybe we'll get an announcement" Harry said pushing his way through the crowd.

Arriving at the great hall there was another commotion because students were being searched for dark objects as they entered and those found with dark objects were taken into custody. Harry passed through the check point with Bella and took seats at the Gryffindor table

"I wonder where Dumbledore is, he'd be going crazy about how the students deserved second chances" Harry said as Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle were taken into custody but Nott passed safely through the checkpoint

"I don't think he was at Hogwarts, he was missing from breakfast" Bella said "I thought he was trying to find where you and Draco were" Bella said watching Draco pass through the checkpoint to the surprise of the Aurors

"Hi Bella" he said as he sat down beside her

"Quite a circus we've got here" Harry said

"I think Theo knew about the raid, he always carries a dagger with him and today he suddenly didn't" Draco said to Harry

"We'll see, I think this is the first of many"

"We can only hope"

They sat and watched fascinated as students from all houses were caught with dark objects like daggers (2 Slytherin's), love potions (A Ravenclaw and a Slytherin), cursed books (A few Ravenclaw's) and one dark potion. Once everyone was seated and the Aurors had taken the guilty students away Professor Umbridge stepped forward and made announcements; Firstly classes were cancelled and everyone was to remain in their seats until called, secondly their rooms and common rooms were being searched and the students found with dark contraband were to be arrested. She was about to continue when Dumbledore rushed into the hall

"What is the meaning of this Dolores? I was only…" he said and tripped over the sword in the stone

"Can you get rid of this fucking sword" He shouted at Harry who was laughing

"Albus Dumbledore you are under arrest" Amelia said stepping forward with Kingsley and Sirius who had returned

"What for?" he asked outraged

"Three counts of Impeding justice, Two counts of Negligence, One count of jeopardising the future of magic Britain and finally One count of Reckless actions with a magic Artifact involving a minor" Amelia read from the charge sheet

"You seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to- what is the phrase? - come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all" he said and called for Fawkes

"Looking for him Albus?" Dolores asked lifting a cage with Fawkes in "We thought you might try and escape, another charge then evading capture" she smiled cruelly

Dumbledore pulled his wanted but Harry sent a wandless disarming charm his way and caught the wand out of the air

"5 points to Gryffindor" Sirius boomed caused Bella and Harry to laugh

Dumbledore was put into Magic inhibiting cuffs and dragged off. Food was served but many students weren't feeling up to a meal; Harry, Draco and Neville were not amongst those students. They dished and went about eating with no worries in the world, when the food disappeared they chatted about Neville joining their training but the boy seemed shy.

"We'll be able to help you do better Nev but more importantly you may be able to save a life" Draco said

"Can I think about it, it seems daunting" Neville said and Harry nodded

"That's okay" he said to his fellow lion

"So do you think this is because you gave Hermione and Umbridge an earful regarding the safety of Hogwarts?" Dean asked

"I hope it is Dean, we cannot fight an external threat when an internal one weakens us. The minister, much as we don't like it, has managed to get in front of the Voldemort threat. He has tripled the Auror forces and issued a shoot-to-kill order but Dumbledore has convinced too many people to hug the bad guys into submission" he looked to Draco to make sure his new friend wasn't hurt by his words. Draco nodded for him to continue

"They need to be taken down and exposed and the only way for that to happen is for everyone to be on the same page. Good VS Evil, not Evil VS Good VS Dumbledore VS Ministry" Harry continued the entire table listening to him now "We have to stand as one against this threat" he said and knew that he could never convince the world he was going dark now

"But who will lead us?" Lavender asked

"We will lead ourselves, those with information will report it to those with the power to act. We will lead ourselves into the light, into a future that's safer than our present. The reason dark lord exist is because people are kept in the dark and people are oppressed. Removing those oppressors and encouraging transparency is key, Professor Umbridge and Director Bones have started that here today from the foundations of the magical world which will go a long way in healing the future" Harry said and took a drink of water given to him by Bella. Draco continued where Harry had left off

"And we can help by not shoving our heads in the cauldron" he started and many nodded "Harry isn't the only person who can put an effort forward in fixing our futures. It's not his burden to bear alone, it's all of ours"

What they boys did not realise is that everyone in the Hall had listened; some looked ashamed and others looked hopeful. The Professors could not believe how they had failed their students; they were not preparing them for a war, they had taught as if they lived in a world without a dark lord.

"Thank you to everyone for their cooperation" Professor Umbridge said "A hundred points to both Slytherin and Gryffindor for those words of encouragement from Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy. Now off you go, OWLS and NEWTS will begin in a month and we expect everyone to do their best, Professor Franklin will be joining us in the morning and he will be taking over classes for Professor Snape. I will be acting Headmistress until someone is appointed by the board and The three heads of houses will be assisting Slytherin house as I will not appoint a new head of house yet" she dismissed the Hall and turned to talk to the Professors who all looked shell shocked at the day's events

 **AN - What a chapter to write, hope everyone enjoyed**

 **Thanks for all the followers and favourites, but mostly thanks for the reviews. The turnout has been amazing, this is my number one ranked story in terms of Favourites and Followers.**

 **The story is far from over**

 **I'd like to give special thanks to my regular reviewers; rb2312, Isles, ARega1s, Penny is wise, mizzrazz72, magitech, Harlequin Shadow and Arnold DeVillena. Special Special thanks to white collar black wolf for following me through all my musings and giving me encouragement**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN – Hey guys and girls, sorry for the delay but here you go**

 **Chapter 20**

Harry couldn't believe that he was on the train and heading home once more; this year had been a rollercoaster ride that he could not have imagined. He looked at Bella who was busy watching the trees pass, she looked troubled.

"Hey" he whispered and squeezed her hand

"Yeah?" she looked at him with those dark eyes

"Everything will be okay" he smiled

"I hope so" she said and returned his smile

The rest of the compartment were making plans for the summer holidays and gave Harry open invitations to join them. Draco had agreed to stay at Grimmauld place again so that he could receive further training but said that his mother was going to stay with his Aunt Andromeda.

Harry got off the train and found Sirius waiting for them

"We should go see the Healer, she asked that we come over as soon as you got back home" the older man smiled and led Harry and Bella to the Floo point in the station.

"I'm going to Florean's" Bella said and left the two of them walking towards the Healers offices.

"What's wrong with Bella?" Sirius asked

"She's worried about all these changes that are being made and about me fighting Voldemort" Harry said "I tried making her feel better by reassuring her but it never distracts her long enough" he continued

"I'll talk to her and see if we can make her feel better" Sirius smiled at his Godson

They entered the room and found Mary at her desk; she got up and greeted them with a smile

"It's nice to see you again Harry, you look even better than when I saw you at Christmas break" she started his examination

"I think you're well on your way to recovery" she smiled

"If only I can keep him out of trouble" Sirius joked

"I doubt that's possible" she laughed and led Harry back to the desk "I wanted to talk to you regarding what we took out of Harry at our first visit" she said seriously

"It's still gone right?" Harry asked

"Yes definitely but I do believe he would have made more than one" she said

"Okay what were you thinking about?" Harry asked "Like other people?"

"Not necessarily other people, I believe a human soul would always fight a foreign soul. So either an object or animal which would drain a human of their magic to bring him back"

"Then I've destroyed one of them already, there was a diary at Hogwarts in second year" Harry proceeded to tell them the story

"I agree with you that the diary was one" she said making notes

"I think we should assume that there are still more" Sirius said "He always had a snake with him the first time, maybe it's still around" he suggested and Mary made notes once more

"Is there no way we can force all of them back into him?" Harry asked "What if there are too many and it takes all our lives to find them?"

"I'm concerned about that too, maybe if we found two of them we could try" she said making notes

"Let's keep our eyes open, I suggest you use an aura spell to find dark objects and then I could come over and test if they have the same aura that Harry's scar had" she said

"Let's start at home" Sirius said to Harry "My brother was a Voldemort supporter"

"I'll try and speak to some colleagues who have experience in dark aura's and see if they know of any items that have been darker than the rest or were peculiar" she explained

"Thank you for all your help" Harry said as they left

"It's everyone's job to defeat him Harry, so no thanks are necessary" she smiled and said good bye

"Interesting visit" Harry said as they left the offices

They heard an explosion and drew their wands immediately; they ran and found Florean's on fire and 30 Death eaters surrounding the place and firing spells into the shop

"Oh wifey, I'm home" Lestrange shouted

Sirius fired off a few spells and managed to drop their numbers to 25 but then he heard Bella scream and saw Harry go off like a madman. In seconds he had the sword of Gryffindor in his left hand while he wielded his wand in his right, he fought his way through the death eaters with Sirius by his side. He decapitated a death eater and stepped closer to Lestrange

"Ah Bella's new man" he said and rounded on Harry. Before he could say any more Harry rushed him with the sword and Lestrange barely dodged the blow, Harry spun around and started casting stunners at the man who was almost twice his size. Once Lestrange had been forced to be walking amongst his fallen comrades Harry stowed his wand and attacked purely with the sword. Running forward he deflected curses from his blade; he was within striking range when another death eater joined the fight but was cut down quickly which gave Lestrange a chance to find his feet amongst the bodies

Then the killing curse started flying; Harry still managed to intercept them with the blade but instead of the curses being deflected they were absorbed by the sword. Harry faked right and spun clockwise and caught Lestrange in the arm; he pulled the sword towards himself and it dislodged itself but pulled Lestrange forward as well. Thinking quickly he shoved the sword forward once more and through the chest of Bella's tormentor

Aurors arrived and found a bloody Harry Potter and Sirius Black; the watched Harry pull the sword from the hulking man's chest and kick his lifeless body.

"Late as always" Harry said shaking his head

"Harry calm down" Sirius commanded but the younger boy turned on his ready to shout but Sirius spoke quickly "Bella needs you"

Harry walked with sword in hand into the ice cream store; he opened the door and saw a few customers had been injured. He let them out and entered the backroom of the store and found Bella crying

"Bella" he said softly

"Bella he's gone" he said moving closer to her; she looked up and saw him covered in cuts and blood

"Did you…" she started

"Shove this sword through his chest? Yes my Bella" he said and got onto his knees in front of her

"Thank you, he scared me. I always hated when he came around to my parents and leered at me and Andi" she cried

"I'll always protect you my Trixie" he said and finally pulled her into his arms

They got up after a while and exited the shop to a full Diagon Alley; Harry was shocked to see so many people had gathered

"Raise the sword" Bella whispered and he complied which caused loud cheers to erupt from the crowd

"You're their sign of hope, but more importantly you're my sign of hope" she said and kissed him which caused catcalls to be made; mostly by Sirius.

They were escorted to safety by Aurors where they waited to be debriefed by Amelia and Sirius; Harry watched an owl fly into the room. He detached the letter and read it

 _Dear Mr Potter,_

 _The Lestrange vault is now rightfully yours by conquest. Please see us as soon as possible as there are dark items we'd rather not have the leader of the light to have in his vault._

 _The goblins stand behind you Mr Potter, this fight is for magical Britain and we'd very much like to have a hand in winning it for the good. Too long have the Goblins only been known for rebelling; please accept our offer of support_

 _Your knife in wealth_

 _Grand Chieftain_

 _Blackclaw_

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed it. Any suggestions are welcome and reviews are encouraged**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 21**

It was the following morning before sunrise which found Harry sat in the Goblin's chambers waiting with Sirius and Bella who would not leave his side since the attack on Florean's ice cream shop. They sat staring at the locket on the table that Sirius had found in Grimmauld place; Kreacher had lost his mind when Sirius had it in his hands.

"Do you believe what Kreacher said about Regulus?" Bella asked

"I do" he said sadly "He was Kreacher's favourite after you"

"So he tried to sell Voldemort out in the end?" Harry asked "Why?"

"I think he grew disenchanted with the supposed Pureblood propaganda" Sirius said "I feel bad for all the shit I gave him over the years"

"Just do his memory justice then Padfoot" Harry said and patted the old man on the back

"I asked Mary to join us, since she has a theory about destroying them all at once" Sirius said when the Healer entered the room

"Hi Sirius, Harry and Bellatrix. How are you after the attack yesterday?" Mary asked

"We're okay" Bella answered

The group discussed the attack for a bit until the Goblin walked into the room. He was followed by two younger Goblins

"Ah Mr Potter, welcome" he smiled

"I've never been this far down in Gringotts" Sirius said

"You're in the Goblin's keep, you're the first humans here" He explained

"Why?" Harry asked

"Because never before have we thought anyone worthy of being allied with" Blackclaw explained

"Then I will try not to let you down, we found this Necklace at home. We're hoping that the object you spoke about is the same" Harry said "Healer Smith has a few theories about destroying them all at once"

"We have assigned a healer and a curse breaker to assist us with the dark object and looking at that locket I do think that you are correct in the assumption that they are both Soul Anchors"

"Perfect, so how do we destroy them?" Harry said eagerly

"That remains to be seen Mr Potter, if you plan on destroying one at a time then maybe using a spell like fiendfyre or the killing curse but we also feel that destroying them all at once would be better since we do not know how many he was able to make. Therefore it would require intensive research and careful experimentation" Blackclaw explained

"I understand" he handed over the locket which was placed in a case and locked

"Healer Smith, you're welcome to join our researchers whenever you have time to assist" The goblin said kindly

"Well I have closed my practice to assist in this matter, so I can join them immediately" she said

"Wonderful, Irontooth will take you to the room which you will be working in" He said and motioned for her to follow the younger goblin which she readily complied with

They discussed tactics regarding getting Goblin warriors to points where they were needed; Sirius thought it would be more prudent to have Amelia involved so he went and got her

"I would never have thought I'd be planning to fight a war alongside a goblin" she said

"Dark times require the defenders of the light to band together" Blackclaw smiled

"Agreed, now I'd like to have some Aurors patrolling Hogwarts in the New Year will you be able to assist with the perimeter?" she asked

"We would, I've had Portkey's made for everyone. They will tear through any anti-Portkey wards and will bring you to an entry hall here in Gringotts" he said and opened a box filled with bracelets and offered them to the group

"How quickly can your warriors get to key areas such as Hogwarts and the Ministry?" Amelia asked

"We can be there in minutes, we have Portkey's set up to take us to those locations. So all that would be needed was to get a squad together"

"That's excellent, another question?" Amelia asked not waiting for an answer "Would a squad be able to patrol the alley?"

"It was a suggestion I was going to raise"

"Perfect then, give me an hour so I can get a press conference together to announce the allegiance to the world. It will ensure that you're warriors are not disturbed by wizards"

"Let us have it on the steps of Gringotts, Mr Potter will be there naturally as his presence will only strengthen the message we are sending to the world" Blackclaw said looking at Harry who only nodded

"Lastly, we wish to give you this" he said to Harry revealing body hugging garments "They'll shield you from most offensive curses and will help you with magical stamina, we have been working on them for some time now and we believe you would be the best candidate to wear it. It can be worn under your normal clothes as not to be conspicuous."

"Thank you" Harry smiled

"I'd like to get a cup of coffee and perhaps read the morning newspaper before we have the press conference" Sirius said "I haven't gotten these two breakfast yet either and I'd hate for the Ministry thinking I have no clue about raising children" he laughed

"I apologise for the early meeting, we planned on getting a lot done as to not take up too many days" Blackclaw said

"Okay Sirius you take care of your family while I head off and get a press conference together. Blackclaw see you in an hour and thank you for the co-operation"

"It is a pleasure Amelia, let us get to our jobs then" he said and got up

In the restaurant Sirius had noticed Harry had gotten quiet and was staring over his shoulder

"Is something about to attack me?" Sirius asked making a move for his wand

"Huh?" the teen replied

"What's distracting you?" he asked and turned in his seat and then he saw the front of the newspaper; it was Harry with the sword through Lestrange's chest with the words _OUR HERO IN ACTION_ printed above it. Below that was an article with the title _Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Criminal Dumbledore_

"Time to step up isn't it?" Harry asked

"I think so Pup, we're here and we're not going to leave your side" Sirius said

"Then breakfast can wait" he said and got up "We're going to Madam Malkin's" he said walking out the door

"Sirius I need you to take this" He said while Madam Malkin measured him once more and handed over the sword to Sirius "I need a sheath for it, I plan on wearing it with the black formal robes Madam Malkin is making"

"On it" he said and gingerly took the sword

"I'm proud of you Harry" Bella said smiling "You're going to do great!"

They waited for the witch to finish her work and then Harry changed into his new robes; he looked older and more distinguished. He put both wands in holsters and combed his hair back

"Give them Hell Mr Potter!" the older witch smiled "And come back when you're ready to marry that one" she said to Bellatrix quietly

"Oh I will" she blushed and followed Harry out, they had a magical world to lead.

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed it. More soon!**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 22**

When they arrived home Harry went straight up stairs to his room and had a shower; who would have thought that a press conference could be so tiring? At least it went well and people had accepted the idea of Goblin help, after his vote of confidence of course. He stood under the hot water and was immersed in his thoughts

Downstairs Sirius and Bella spoke about him; they were worried that he was taking on a lot of stress with this whole war and the more they told him to talk and delegate tasks the quieter he got and the more he done himself.

"He can't do it alone Siri" she argued again

"I agree but what can we do if he forces the issue?" Sirius argued back

"Try and talk to him again?" Bella suggested

"That's not going to help, I think there's only one thing we can do. I'm going out for a bit, neither of you leave while I'm gone" He said and left the house

Bella dragged herself up stairs to face her surly boyfriend; she opened his bedroom door and heard the shower running. She sat down on the bed and inspected the sword and it's new sheath. The sheath was black with a golden design carved into it, she had never seen the material before and the goblins were tight lipped about it.

The water turned off and he emerged from the bathroom; his hair all over the place since having dried it and a towel around his waist. She looked at him; he was looking much better than when she had first met him.

"Nice shower?" she asked

"Would have been nicer if you were there" he grinned causing her to blush

"Well I'm here now" she said and he joined her on the bed and started kissing her. He ran his hands down her sides and pulled her top over her head and threw it on the floor; she pulled him close with her arms which were wrapped around his neck. They continued kissing and Harry ran his hands down her spine causing her to shiver, he started kissing her neck as she ran her hands through his hair

Sirius stood outside the Muggle house wondering if he had been right about this; surely it couldn't make things worse. He knocked on the door and waited; there were footsteps coming towards the door, it sounded like a grown man. The door flew open and eyes will with gloom faced Sirius

"Yes?" the man asked

"Mr Granger?" Sirius checked

"Yes yes, can I help you?" he asked impatiently

"I need to speak to your daughter Mr Granger" Sirius said calmly

"She's not in the best space right now, Mr?"

"Black, Sirius Black. I think I can help" he said "My godson is Harry Potter"

"Then I do think you can help" Mr Granger let him in "She's in her room; up the stairs and first door on the right"

Sirius climbed the stairs and heard the soft sobs; he opened the door and saw her laying on her bed holding her pillow.

"Please leave dad" she asked

"Not your dad Hermione" Sirius smiled kindly

"Sirius?" she asked shocked "Is Harry okay?"

"He needs you back Hermione, he feels like he is losing everything from his own life"

"I feel the same way, I read the paper this morning. The man I believed in was lying and I hurt a very important friend Sirius. I won't lie to you, I thought that you had turned Harry against us and that he was going dark but now I see; it hit me like a ton of bricks this morning when I read the newspaper. My heart split in two" she said crying again

"He was hurt when you didn't write him Hermione and then when you constantly took Dumbledore's side over his, I can understand why you did but for the smartest witch of your age you really messed up a good friendship Hermione"

"I know, how do I fix it?"

"I'd like you to come speak with him; I think he needs it, he needs you"

"Let me get done" she said determined

Sirius went back downstairs and saw that both Hermione's parents were now sitting in the kitchen and drinking coffee

"How is she?" Mrs Granger asked

"I think she'll be okay, I'd like to take her to my house so she can see Harry. You can come along, I doubt you've been in a magical house before" Sirius said

"We'd love to, but are you sure it'll help. From what I've managed to get out of her is that they aren't friends anymore" Mrs Granger asked

"They need each other, more than either knows" Sirius said "The separation is not doing them any good"

"We're they dating?" Mr Granger

"No no, they were just really close friends and their split was hard on both of them" Sirius said sadly

"I'm ready" Hermione said coming down the stairs

"I think we are too" Mr and Mrs Granger smiled

"You're coming too?" Hermione asked shocked

"Of course, we're excited to see a magical home" Mrs Granger said without hiding her excitement

They made their way into the back yard and Sirius apparated them straight in front of Grimmauld place, they watched as the house revealed itself to them with awe. He led them into the sitting room and went and found Harry and Bella in the study.

"Bella please see if our guests are okay" he said seriously

"Yes Siri" she said and hopped up and left

"Pup, Hermione is here and I'd like you to talk to here and hear her out" Sirius said

"Okay" he said and Sirius made to leave 'I don't like you interfering like this, it's Dumbledore-esque"

"I need you to be whole when the war finishes, not just some used weapon" Sirius said sternly and left

Hermione entered a few minutes later looking weary; she sat down across from where he was

"Hi Harry" she said

"Hi" he responded

"Harry I'm so sorry, I was so wrong to put my faith in Dumbledore. I really thought that he knew the best. We're only sixteen Harry what could we know better than him, that's what I thought. Now I know you were right; I should have written you, told you about what was happening but I didn't and it's a decision I'll always regret" she said crying but Harry stood and faced the window

"Say something please" she said after a few minutes of silence

"You hurt me Hermione. You know if Bella and Sirius didn't do something then I'd still be called a liar and being beaten by the Dursley's. You knew everything I went through with them and how I found a measure of solace in your letters and then at the advice of an old fool you leave me to that torture" he said crying now too "Then you keep fighting me on every little thing throughout the year"

"Harry" she said stepping closer to him "I'm so sorry, even if we're never friends again I just want you to know that you were right" she turned to leave but he caught her wrist and pulled her close

"Merlin I missed you" he said holding his friend

"I missed you too" she said holding him and letting happy tears run down her face "I'll do everything to help you beat him Harry, I promise"

 **AN – There we go, a happy reunion. It won't be without effort from all because after all Hermione might not be happy with all Harry's plans**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 23**

Draco fired off a cutting curse and a banishing curse at Sirius who simply dodged both curses. They had been training for an hour now and Draco's power was failing him and that's exactly when Sirius struck with a disarming spell and a stunner which both hit their target and Draco crumbled.

"What can you tell me from that fight?" Sirius asked Harry

"Draco tried to end it early and went for heavy spells but then it dragged on longer than he expected but he still didn't use his energy wisely"

"What else?" Sirius asked

"He still didn't change tactics even when he saw that his opponent was reserving magical power" Harry answered

"Correct, a battle has two sides and both your actions and the actions of your opponents are extremely important" Sirius lectured

"Okay, can we wake Draco up now?" Harry asked

"Sure, get done we still have Bella's birthday to celebrate tonight. We're going to her favourite restaurant" Sirius said and left the room

Harry cast a reviving spell on Draco and the two made their way upstairs; Draco had taken to living with the Blacks permanently.

"Harry, Draco. We'll be moving to Potter Manor tomorrow, we need more space to train and this house is getting small with the Grangers here as well" Sirius said coming out of the living room

"Okay, we'll pack tonight" Draco said

They went to their respective rooms and got done for Bella's birthday; Harry chose a jeans and sneakers with a green shirt and Draco had chosen the same but with a red shirt instead. When they arrived downstairs everyone had a good laugh at the Brave snake and the Cunning Lion as they were now known. The took the floo to the Ministry where they got a Portkey to Paris and made it in time for a dinner reservation

"So how are you enjoying seeing so much of the Magical world Mrs Granger" Bella asked

"Oh I'm really amazed at how quickly things happen and at the same time how far in the past something's are" she said "Like tonight wouldn't be possible for us non-magical people, we'd have to pay for seven plane tickets and then take the flight which would take hours. Then we'd have to check into a hotel because I don't think there'd be a return flight that night" Mrs Granger explained

"I'd like to take a plane" Bella said to Harry

"We'll add it to the list okay?" he said and kissed her forehead when she nodded

"List?" Hermione asked

"We've decided to make a list of things we'd like to do once we've defeated Voldemort"

"That sounds amazing" Mrs Granger said

"What's on the list at the moment?" Sirius asked

"Its places we'd like to go, like the Black Island and an amusement park. Things like taking a plane or going paragliding" Harry said

"We could go do some of those things over the holidays" Hermione said excitedly thinking about the amusement park

"No" Bella said

"It's kind of a personal thing that the two of us would like to do" Harry said

"Okay, I'm sure you'll enjoy it" she said brightly

"Time for food" Sirius said as the food arrived to everyone's amusement

The evening passed by pleasantly with everyone having enjoyed the night out; they made it back to the Portkey return to England in time.

"Okay, time to pack" Harry said and left for his room and everyone eventually followed his lead. He sat on his bed wishing he had his own elf and then he heard a loud pop.

"Master Harry be needing Dobby" the elf beamed at him

"I was just thinking about how much easier life would be if I had my own house elf"

"Please Master choose Dobby to be Master Harry's personal elf" the elf pleaded

"Okay what do I need to do Dobs? And just call me Harry" he smiled

"Just give Mast…. Harry's hand" he put out his own hand and Harry complied, there was a brief flash of light and then the elf smiled "All's done"

"Good, but first I want you to wear clothes. Something like this" he said and summoned a black pair of pants, white shirt and a red jacket "If you're cooking change the jacket to this" he said and changed the short and jacket to a chefs jacket

"Okay Harry" the elf said and summoned identical clothes as Harry banished his

"Perfect, now please pack all my belongings since we'll be moving tomorrow" he gave the elf a thumbs up and left the room. He walked across hall to Bella's room and heard her talking to Hermione so he decided to go find Draco; he knocked on the blonde boy's door and was told to come in. He found Draco sitting in a chair and watching an elf pack up his possessions

"Great minds" he grinned

"Kreacher?" Draco looked impressed that Harry had convinced the surly elf to do it for him

"No, I got my own elf. You actually know him, Dobby" Harry said

"I always wondered where he went. When did you get him to agree to be your elf?" Draco asked

"A few minutes ago" Harry smiled "Up for a run?" he asked Draco

"Sure, down to the park and back?"

"Yeah that's fine, meet you down stairs in five" he said and left the room

True to his word he showed up five minutes later in a tracksuit and running shoes which matched Draco's. The ran down to the park and decided to walk around a bit before they sprinted back; Harry found himself thinking about how far their friendship had come, Draco without his father's influence was a very funny person and very witty. It always made Harry wonder of that was why he hated Hermione before; because she always knew what was going on so Draco couldn't always be the smartest person in the room

"Do you really think I act like a Gryffindor?" Draco asked pulling him out of his thoughts

"You do, but I think it's cause you were always trying to prove a point. Now though you're definitely just a brave Snake and I'm just a Cunning Lion and we both have Ravenclaw smarts and Hufflepuff loyalty or at least that is what I like to convince myself of"

"Okay I guess that makes sense, so how do you plan to lead us O Saviour of the wizarding world"

"I want people to see that there's more than just the wizarding world; look at how much wonder the Granger's find in our world and imagine that but in reverse. You've only seen a bit and you can't deny how wonderfully convenient their lives are"

"But how do you show that to everyone?" Draco asked

"First we have to defeat Voldemort and then we go about showing our friends who in turn will show their families. Then it moves to bigger things like getting a muggle studies professor who knows more about the muggle world than what the current one does and lastly the biggest step is to get legislation passed to loosen the Statute of Secrecy" Harry said

"Very idealistic but can I ask you one more thing?" the blonde boy waited

"Sure"

"Why do you and Bella keep delaying everything until Voldemort is dead. There are things you could do already? Like showing everyone how fantastic the non-magical world is"

"I don't want to distract from our main goal but I understand what you're saying. Let me think on it okay?" Harry said and the blonde boy nodded

"It's just a pity" Draco said

"What is?"

"That you're going to lose the sprint" he said and bolted before Harry heard the last word

 **AN – Hope it was enjoyable. Please review because you are awesome at it**

 **There will be a few of these building chapters before more battles take place but there will be action in the planning and setting up of the fight.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN – Hey guys and girls here you go**

 **Chapter 24**

Harry ran around Potter manor thinking about how much had been taken from him not knowing his parents. If anyone investigated his early life they'd find very little regarding what he liked or where he had been.

The thought stopped him in his tracks, what about Voldemort then? Where did he grow up? Harry knew his name now, Tom Marvolo Riddle but he didn't know any Riddle's now. He took off to the house; they needed to figure out where Voldemort had come from and maybe it would help them find other soul containers. The doors opened as he got close; something that still amazed him, it was as if the house was alive and was built to serve him.

He found Sirius in the kitchen discussing duelling and fighting with Draco; they had been training without him as he worked on increasing his endurance and speed.

"I just thought of something" Harry said announcing himself

"Shoot" Sirius said

"Voldemort, or more accurately Tom Marvolo Riddle. What do we know about him?" Harry asked

"He is trying to take over the Magical and non- Magical worlds" Draco said

"And before that?" Harry pressed

"He went to Hogwarts?" Sirius asked

"So a seventeen year old student just decided to take over the world?" Harry asked looking at them "Where did he come from? Who are his parents? Why aren't there any other Riddle's" Harry asked

"Ohh I know a good one. What's has no eyes but can see and…" Sirius joked but the seriousness on Harry's face killed the joke "Sorry, I get what you're saying though. Let us do some digging" and then left the room

"Geez lighten up Potter, we're seeing the Goblin's today and they're doom and gloom enough for the entire world" Draco said handing him a cup of coffee

"Thanks, I'm going to see Bella for a bit. See you at the door in an hour" he said and also left the room. Harry walked up the beautiful stair case and to Bella's room which was across from the main bedroom which he now occupied. He knocked and was told to enter

"Good morning Beautiful" he said kissing her forehead

"Good morning my love" she said taking the warm cup from him "Sorry but Draco makes the best coffee in the house" she smiled

"He cooks quite decently too" Harry said "A good little house elf we have" Harry laughed

"Don't be mean" Bella said but she was unable to contain her giggles

"Okay dear, what are you doing with the Granger's today?" Harry asked sitting down on her bed

"Hermione would like to go horseback riding since she saw the stables last week so maybe we'll get to that today or maybe we'll go through the second library and see what curses and spells we can find" She said

"Okay but I'd like if you used one of the elves to check for enchantments please?" Harry asked

"We will, are you looking forward to meeting with the elves?" she asked

"I am, they've been through Hogwarts and they say that they have exciting news for us" he smiled

"Why does that excite you?" she asked

"Because I think that is where we'll make our final stand and for some reason I think Voldemort is very taken with the idea of controlling Hogwarts and not only for the obvious reasons" he said

"Obvious reasons?" Bella asked

"If he takes the school he effectively holds the future of Magical Britain because all the Heir's will be in one convenient place. Also he can spread propaganda to the students" Harry said

"You're always three steps ahead of all of us" she said sadly "Sometimes I wonder what we'd do if you were gone" she said shaking her head

"You'll never have to find out" he said and saw that she wasn't completely soothed "What else is wrong?" he asked

"We seem to be spending less and less time together" she said

"Tomorrow it'll be just me and you okay, I don't have plans made for tomorrow" he said

"Okay" she beamed

"There's my beautiful girl" he smiled and kissed her

"Go get showered cause you stink" she smiled

"Yes Trixie" he said and left the room to get done for the day

When they entered the familiar office they saw Blackclaw behind his desk smiling broadly; he looked like a kid on Christmas.

"Welcome, sit down let's get started" he said "So we've worked through the castle and found some interesting things, like this" he lifted the diary

"I destroyed that in second year" Harry said

"Yes you did, but what did you use?" he asked

"A basilisk fang" Harry said as if it was no big deal but the Goblins were shocked by this

"Which you got where?" Griphook asked but fell silent when Blackclaw glared at him

"From the basilisk I killed" Harry said shrugging his shoulders

"What do you mean?" Blackclaw asked, and so Harry ran them through his second year at Hogwarts

"Would you be able to take us down into the chamber on another day? A basilisk carcass is very valuable and very useful" Blackclaw asked

"Sure, let's do it next Monday" Harry said

"Perfect, now on to other items. We've found the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, or I guess it's just the Diadem now. It too is a soul anchor and we have stored it with the rest of the items" he said

"That is interesting, has Voldemort ever had a Gringotts account?" Sirius asked

"We will investigate" Blackclaw said and Griphook made notes

"Thank you, what about defences for the castle?" Harry asked

"With the assistance of the new Headmaster we were able to find the ward stone and then added new defensive wards to the castle. Also we were able to activate the suits of armour and the stone statues. They are ready to fight at a moment's notice" he explained

"Who is the new Headmaster?" Draco asked clearly curious

"Johnathan Greengrass stepped forward, he used to teach abroad before his wife fell pregnant with their oldest daughter. Them being a grey family meant that they were constantly under fire from both sides during the first war but this time he has chosen his families safety and Hogwarts represents that" Sirius explained

"Correct" Blackclaw said "There will be more changes this year at Hogwarts as well but those have been kept under wraps" he continued

"So what remains?" Harry asked

"We'd like to offer training in blades of you would like it?" Blackclaw said

"Before I accept I need to ask something Blackclaw" Harry said

"Please Mr Potter, go ahead" he said friendly

"I mean no offense but in my experience with Gringott's nothing is free, you have been helping us with this fight and I'd like to know what the Goblin's get out of this? A magical population which banks with them and only them? That's too little, what's your end goal?" Harry said bluntly

"You're too sharp" Blackclaw laughed "Saw right through me"

"Not really, you're fellow Goblins just set a trend which you are going against" Harry said looking at Griphook

"One day I'd like Goblin's to live like wizards, be able to purchase wands and have their offspring go to a magical school above ground or even share Hogwarts with wizards and witches" he said and Draco shook his head

"This room is too full of idealists" he said looking at Harry

"There are divides in our society that need to be healed Mr Potter and I'd like us to work together to address the Goblin-Wizard divide" the Goblin said seriously now

"I can't guarantee anything but I will give my full co-operation"

"That, is all I ask" Blackclaw smiled

 **AN – A fully integrated magical society, is it even possible? I hope so, please give me your views on it? Any way I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and will review.**


	25. Chapter 25

**AN – Hey guys and girls. THANK YOU! Thank you for all the support you have given me in this story; it has reached 200 followers! This is the most popular story I've written and I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

 **Any way here you go**

 **Chapter 25**

The night before school was to restart everyone went out for a peaceful dinner at what had become their favourite muggle restaurant. Hermione and her mum had spotted it one day back from shopping in the muggle world and suggested they try it out, and after a few visits it became a solid favourite. Harry sat next to Bella and Draco which had become his standard position; they had become close friends which he could see sometimes made Hermione sad but he couldn't help that right now. Their new friendship had a new dynamic in which they both were still apprehensive about how to deal with one another; Hermione because she didn't want to lose what they had even though she didn't agree with his decisions sometimes. Harry knew she wasn't too happy with all the training that he had decided to plan for himself.

They all enjoyed a good meal and great conversation; Sirius acting like the joker he normally was, had decided to tell them about his early days in the Auror office. They finished their supper and decided to get some last minute supplies before they were to head back to Hogwarts.

Once they entered the alley and found it very quiet, they made their way down the alley and into a few shops.

"Get down!" Harry shouted as a green light illuminated the alley

He pulled his wand and started casting stunners and shepherding the Grangers and Bella into a safe archway

"Stay here, Hermione and Bella use your best shields spells to keep the elder Grangers safe" he commanded

Draco and Sirius had managed to divert spell fire to an abandoned shop; the force was small but had skilled fighters. Harry was seeing spells which he hadn't encountered before so he chose to dodge them instead of casting a shield which may falter. Harry managed to disrupt the fight enough to give Sirius an opening to cut down two of them. Harry saw Draco in trouble as a werewolf pounced on him but he evaded. Harry summoned Godric's blade and cut the werewolf down before it could move on Draco once more.

"Thanks" he said and rushed into the fight once more

They cut down the last of the attackers and checked the surroundings for any more but found no further adversaries, Sirius transported the girls and the Grangers home while Harry and Draco waited for the Aurors to arrive. The Goblin force arrived first; looking ready for a fight that had already finished

"Where were you?" Harry asked the leader

"We are the second shift" he said shuffling his feet

"How did they know to attack just as you switched?" Harry demanded "Have you been switching every day at the same time?"

"Yes, we're on from ten to six" he said

"Then you're a special kind of stupid" Draco shouted

The Aurors arrived a few moments later

"Useless, utterly useless" Harry shook his head "How are we to defend the magical world when we can't even respond to attacks on our alley?" he looked every goblin and Auror in the eyes

"Tell Amelia to meet me in Blackclaw's office" he said to one of the aurors and then made his way to Gringotts

He marched into the office with Draco by his side with his sword in hand; no goblin stopped them as they headed in.

"Mr Potter" Blackclaw said friendly

"What the hell Blackclaw, do your troops not plan ahead? There was an attack in the alley and they arrive after we've disposed of them. We'll be at Hogwarts for the next three months and then who will defend the alley" he was close to shouting now

"Where were our forces?" he demanded from his captain who walked into the office

"We were switching shifts sir" he said not meeting the older goblins eyes

"And the old shift didn't wait for the new shift to arrive before they left?" he asked

"No sir" he said

"Unacceptable, give me your sword and shield" he demanded "go join the general forces" he said once the goblin handed over the items

"While that is needed it doesn't answer my concerns" Harry said "Are your men fit to stand against Voldemort and his supporters?"

"You question our skills? Be careful Mr Potter you're treading on thin ice now" he said angrily

"I don't care right now Blackclaw" he said stubbornly

"Harry…" Draco tried placing a calming hand on his shoulder

"Back down Mr Potter" Blackclaw said "This is not the fight you want to pick"

"Then organise your men, we are depending on them to realise our dreams" he said

"I understand, but let us not follow the same path that our forefathers have. This alliance can be an easy one" he said softening his own tone

"Okay" Harry said and took a seat "It was a complete mess, both forces showed up hopelessly too late"

"I apologise, shall I show you around so you can see our warriors?" Blackclaw offered

"No thank you, but I'd like you to show Amelia around. She'll be here soon" Harry said and stood to leave

"I will Mr Potter, I'll talk to them as well about switching out guard duty" Blackclaw said and watched the two boys leave the room

Draco dragged himself up the stairs breathing heavily. Harry advised him that he should consider upping his cardio and endurance training as it would become a problem in the long run

Harry found Sirius in the kitchen having a drink with Hermione's father

"Thank you for today Harry. Mary and I would have been done for if you hadn't been there" he said

"No problem, I'm just sorry Moony couldn't join because of his furry little problem" Harry said shaking his head

"You done well though pup" Sirius said and passed the boy a bottle of water

"Thanks Sirius, I went off at the Goblins and the Aurors after you left and gave them a piece of my mind regarding their preparations. I really upset Blackclaw as well but we managed to calm ourselves down before we ended up regretting our words" Harry explained

"Good, now get to bed you must be tired and tomorrow is back to Hogwarts" Sirius advised

"I'm going, I'm going" he said and left the room

Harry slept poorly that night; he woke up completely exhausted from the bad dreams he had. It had been the first time in a long time since they plagued him like this

He got showered and dressed; he found Dobby finishing off his packing. He grabbed an outfit and changed before he headed down stairs. They ate a quick breakfast and Harry noticed that Draco looked just exhausted as he did

"Rough night buddy?" Harry asked

"Yeah, long night" he replied

They made for the fire place and soon they were on the train; Harry had his head in Bella's lap and he slept through the entire train ride.

"We saw that they were fighting again in the alley" Neville said to Bella

"Yes, and these two" she pointed to Harry and Draco "Decided to face the Goblins and tell them that they ran a shitty operation" she shook her head

"That is purely on your boyfriend" Draco said and yawned

"He is slightly overzealous" Bella said playing with his hair

"Killing basilisks and all" Hermione laughed

 **AN – Any way I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and will review.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Two chapters today because I've taken long to get you a chapter and also as a celebration for reaching 200 favourites**

 **Chapter 26**

The weeks seemed to merge into one another as the weather got colder and the days grew shorter; Harry was shocked that Ron was back at school but now as a junior caretaker. He followed Filch everywhere to everyone but Hermione's amusement.

"Degrading is what it is!" she said one morning while Ron was cleaning off a portrait

"Hermione" Neville said gently

"No Neville she is right but clearly it's his choice, all we need to do is keep our distance and let him do the job he has been chosen to do. Headmaster Greengrass was happy to employ him after he heard the whole story so we should respect the decision even if we don't agree with it" Bella said

"I guess" Neville said "It's just difficult because he never respected Flich"

"Well deal with it" Harry said grumpily and left the group

"What's wrong with Harry?" Neville asked

"Draco apparently doesn't want to train with him anymore. They had this big row regarding Harry's thrashings and Draco told Harry that he needed to ease up and Harry told him that in a fight with Voldemort no one would be going half speed" Bella said "It almost came to blows"

"They need each other though, the fight is only going to get worse and Draco needs the training and Harry needs the resource of a training buddy"

"They'll sort it out, I'm sure" Hermione said

"Let's hope, since we're not allowed home for Christmas we're going to be seeing a lot of one another and two of us not talking will definitely put a damper on the already sour atmosphere" Neville said as they entered the library

But the two boys didn't make up; they continued avoiding one another until everyone had given up on forcing a reconciliation. Sirius advised Bella to leave it alone and he insisted that they would work it out amongst themselves when the time was right. Hogwarts had become a different place for all the students as the sound of guards marching around the grounds had become a familiar sound and Aurors moved in and out of classrooms as lessons went on. Searches for contraband were conducted at random intervals and a three strike system was put into place; this was truly a sixth year no one in the group had expected. Classes had changed too, all classes tended to be more focused on the defence against the dark arts and personal protection. Defence against the dark arts was taught by Aurors on duty and sometimes classes would be merged due to time restrictions.

They were handed new timetables which would update itself as the day went on if changes were necessary; Hermione hated it because she couldn't plan for her day but she had been spoken to by both the Headmaster and McGonagall about thinking not only about herself but the world at large.

With Quidditch cancelled as well majority of the school found plenty of time to get homework done; teachers saw this and started assigning more work or tougher work to keep the student population engaged and sharp. Magic was now completely forbidden in the halls and expulsions were threatened; everyone was encouraged to join the newly set up duelling club to magically exhaust them. The club also fell in the Aurors responsibilities and helped many students with their defence spells such as shields; but the one student who never attended was Harry Potter who everyone wanted to see duelling again.

"Why don't you come join us sometime?" an Auror once asked him

"It would be a waste senior Auror Michaels, it would only serve to distract them from what could save their lives one day" he explained kindly

"I guess you're right but I'd like you to come over once and help us demonstrate somethings" he pressed

"Sure, I'll help but take it easy on me" Harry said

"Like that's necessary, I was there when you gave the entire Goblin and Auror troops a verbal spanking. I bet that translates well when you have a wand in hand and then you'd be giving physical spankings" he laughed

"I suppose" he smiled

"Now join us okay?"

"I'll come around but if I'm distracting the class I'll leave" he said

"Not one for fame are we?" the Auror asked

"Not really, I'd prefer a quiet life but that is not what the fates have in store for me" Harry said "So I'll fight to get what I want"

"We'll be there by your side Mr Potter" he said and walked away

The following morning was unusually bright for late November; the headmaster looked at the students sitting and waiting for breakfast to be served, he stood and called for the school's attention

"Good morning everyone, it's been a tough few months hasn't it?" he asked to no one in particular but everyone nodded

"I'm extremely happy that everyone has made the most to adapt to our difficult situation, I'm glad to announce that we have not found any banned or dangerous items in the last three weeks and that we've been pleased with your results. We've decided that since you'll be staying at the castle over the Christmas break that we'd like to have a little Yule Ball; I know it's been unpleasant knowing that you won't be heading home due to safety reasons but we'd like to make your Christmas time special nonetheless" he said and saw the faces in the crowd brighten

"Now please do enjoy breakfast and have a good day" he said and smiled

"Sirius said they'd do something to make up for not letting us head home" Bella said

"Yeah Trixie, I guess the old dog does have some uses" Harry laughed

"Have you written him lately? He asked about you in my last letter" she informed him

"No I haven't, I've been meaning to but…" Harry started explained but stopped when he saw the look on Bella's face "I'll write him tonight"

"Thank you, now Draco…" she said

"No Bella, he needs to come to his senses" he said

"Can you try and make up?" she asked nicely

"I'll think about it" he said and continued eating his breakfast

"Thank you my love" she kissed his cheek

 **AN – There we go everyone, hope you enjoyed.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

It was early January and the student population was buzzing with the latest rumour; a werewolf was seen on the grounds by an Auror. It had apparently ran into the woods after it was seen

"I don't believe it" Hermione said "Why only now?"

"I think it's possible though, maybe though it was just lost" Neville said and the rest of the table looked at him as if he was insane

"Neville, we're talking about a werewolf not a puppy" Harry laughed

"If it ran though it may have been on Wolfsbane" Bella said

"It would have attacked otherwise" Harry said nodding "I wonder if anyone else saw it?"

Draco sat down next to Neville and dished himself some food; he looked tired.

"Out hunting werewolves?" Neville asked him

"What?" he grumbled

"Apparently there was a werewolf on the grounds" He said excitedly

"Nonsense" he dismissed the conversation

"See, even Draco agrees with me and we never agree" Hermione said

"Look around Hermione, I think you might be the only two who don't think that it was a real werewolf" Harry said and waved at the rest of the hall. Students were all discussing the issue with excitement.

"Remember when they were discussing how you were the Heir of Slytherin? Still think they're right?" Draco said and left the table

"He makes a good point Harry" Neville said "Maybe it was a normal wolf? Or something else?"

"I'll check on Draco since apparently no one else will" Hermione said and stormed out behind her unlikely friend

Harry and Bella went up to the library and finished off some homework before they disappeared for a few hours. Their relationship had become the highlight of Harry's days; she had given him peace and love. It had completed him; he felt at home wherever she was. He laid in her lap under their favourite tree in the late afternoon; they had cast multiple warming charms and a weather bubble for themselves.

"I feel sorry for Muggles; here we are sitting in freezing weather outdoors and we're nice and toasty. They just have to wrap up" Bella said

"Inside they're fortunate to have heaters and fireplaces but yeah I agree with you. This wouldn't be possible for them" he said

"Are there things you would bring to the magical world from the non-magical one" Bella asked him

"Uhm, maybe electricity and pens. Definitely a telephone and television" he said thinking "Oh and maybe hamburgers and chips" he grinned

"You're always hungry" she shook her head

"I can't help it"

"Yeah yeah sure Harry" she laughed

He was about to ask her something but an owl flew towards them; it was a very regal owl which he had not seen before. It landed outside their bubble and waited patiently for them to take the bubble down and detach the letters

 _Attention Mr Harry James Potter_

 _Please report to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow morning at 8 for the trials of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape._

 _Regards_

 _Ms Gretchen Cresswell_

Bellatrix had the same letter; they looked up and saw a few more owls fly into the castle. They decided to go inside and have lunch while they found out who else had received the summons. When they entered the main hall they saw Sirius sitting at the staff table and talking to the Headmaster

"I wonder if he was hoping to get the information to us first or if he is here to take us home" Harry smiled

"Probably the first, he could have fetched us tomorrow" Bella said frowning

"Why are you frowining?" Harry said not missing it

"He puts his job in trouble if he keeps leaking information and I know it's only us but still" she said

"Okay we'll stay in the dark from now on" Harry said and got punched

"Don't be stupid, I just want him to be safe" she shook her head

"Geez, that right hook will be the death of me" he said shaking his head

Sirius was there to let the headmaster know that he would be fetching all the students who had been summoned to the trials. They would be leaving at seven to ensure that they were all in court by eight in case anything held them up.

It ended up being the best decision as the checking of wands had taken twice as long as it normally would have. Then the group was too large to take a single elevator so Sirius had to call for an additional Auror to assist.

They arrived in courtroom three with a few minutes to spare before the trial of Severus Snape; the sneering man was brought in wearing magic restricting cuffs and plain grey robes.

"Severus Snape, you stand accused of the following charges; Child endangerment, withholding information from authorities, resisting arrest and endangerment of the magical society" the judge read "How do you plead?"

"Not guilty your honour" he said

"The prosecution may make their opening statement" he said and nodded to Amelia

"Ladies and gentlemen, today before you sits a man who has already had the benefit of the doubt. He has been a follower of Voldemort who had apparently reformed; we had accepted this as Albus Dumbledore, who will be appearing here today as well, had told us not to worry. This man used that cover to commit crimes against the future of our magical society, which is his biggest crime. Today we will present to you the evidence of his crimes" she said and took her seat once more

"The defence may now make their opening statement" the judge said and nodded to the tall man beside Severus

"Mr Snape has done nothing but attempt to pass on the skills he had honed over years as a Potions Master. These charges are a farce and the defence is prepared to prove to the court that this is an innocent man" he said in a booming voice and sat down

"Please call your first witness" he said to Amelia

"The prosecution calls Madam Pomfrey" she said and watched the witch take the stand. They administered her the veritaserum

"Madam Pomfrey, please state your occupation for the court?" she smiled at her friend

"I am the Healer at Hogwarts" she said

"How long have you been in the position?"

"For about 15 years, I started there as soon as I had finished my training" she said

"Which means that you have seen 15 years of students pass through your care?" Amelia asked

"Yes, some of the Professors feel comfortable enough to visit me as well" she smiled

"So you've dealt with all Hogwarts injuries for the last 15 years?" Amelia asked again

"Objection your honour, relevance?" the defence lawyer boomed

"I'm just trying to establish the fact that Madam Pomfrey is highly skilled in care of students" Amelia defended

"Go ahead Madam Pomfrey answer the question" the judge said

"Yes I have"

"Would you please comment on the injuries you've dealt with since Severus Snape took up a teaching position?"

"Potions classes always produced an injury, usually they were minor and quickly treated. That changed once Harry Potter came to Hogwarts"

"How do you mean it changed Madam Pomfrey?" Amelia asked

"Severus became hateful, students ended up with worse injuries. The most frequent of them was Neville Longbottom" she explained

"And what did you do about it?" Amelia asked

"I reported it to the headmaster and he said that he would handle it" she said

"That's all from me" Amelia said and went back to her seat

"No questions for this witness your honour" the defence said

"Next witness please Madam Bones"

"The prosecution calls Neville Longbottom" she said and Neville went to the stand and took his veritaserum

"Mr Longbottom, you don't mind if I call you Neville do you?"

"No, not at all Madam Bones" he smiled at her

"Neville will you tell the court about your time at Hogwarts?" she asked

"Well mostly it's fine, I really enjoy Herbology and I really hate Potions." He said

"What's wrong with potions?" she asked

"I can't get my potions to work and Professor Snape doesn't help matters much since he always snaps at me or completely vanishes my potions forcing me to start over with less time" he explained "Sometimes he will wait until my potion explodes causing whoever is close to me to be hurt as well"

And so the trial went, various students were called to the stand and all painted a picture of an educator who didn't care about his students or his subject. When Harry was called Amelia made a point of bringing the courts attention to the demeanour Snape had taken on; his lawyer was not pleased that she had. He tried to cross question the students but all his questions just made his client look worse

Eventually she had called all her witnesses and it was time for the defence to call his witnesses, he called Snape to the stand. Veritaserum was administered to the sneering man

"Mr Snape what would you like to tell the court?" he said giving the man a chance to make his case to the court

"I have tried teaching these… students but what they lacked in skill could not be surmounted. Some like the pathetic Longbottom weren't worth my time, what was there to gain by turning him into a mediocre potion maker? Then there's Potter, the only bigger waste of talent I've seen is his father who stole the precious Lily from me. She's the only reason I stayed at that place and why I continued to spy on Lord Voldemort for them" he said to the court

"Do you have anything to say in your defence?" his lawyer asked hopefully

"They need me and if they can't see that then I will not help them" he said

"No further questions" the man said deflated

"The prosecution may direct their questions to the witness" the judge said

"What crimes have you committed since your last trial?" Amelia asked

"Objection! Relevance your honour" the defence boomed

"Sustained, please move on Madam Bones" the judge said

"Do you feel at all remorseful about what you've done?"

"Not at all" Snape said simply

"No further questions your honour"

The judge shook his head and called for a 30 minute break; the teens discussed what they had seen while Sirius stretched his legs. Court resumed once more and the prosecution was called to give their closing statement, Amelia got to her feet and faced the judge first and then turned to the court.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this morning we have seen a man who does not care about anyone but himself" she said and looked at all the Wizengamot members "He feels no remorse for anything he has done. There's nothing else I can say but that he doesn't deserve Azkaban, he deserves the veil" she said and sat down again

The defence was told to give his closing speech but he remained seated

"The defence may give their closing speech" the judge said once more

"The defence rests" he said

"Members of the Wizengamot may leave for deliberation" The judge said and left. Harry made to stand as well as he needed the bathroom but Sirius held him in his seat

"This won't be long" he said and a minute later they were back in session

"The members have reached a decision?" The judge said as he took his seat

"Yes we have"

"Was the decision unanimous?" he asked

"Yes it was" the member said

"What was the verdict?" he asked

"Death by the veil, to be administered immediately" he said and sat back down

"Aurors take him away, Madam Bones court will resume in an hour so please don't be too long" the judge said

"Justice" Sirius said simply

"Can we go get some food before Dumbledore's trial?" Neville asked

"Yes we should, it's going to run much longer than this one" Sirius said and led the group out to the closest restaurant

 **AN – There we go everyone, hope you enjoyed.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

They barely made it back to the court before Albus Dumbledore was brought into court; he looked much better than what Snape had.

"We are just waiting for Mr Dumbledore's counsel" Amelia said to the judge

"Not needed Amelia I will be representing myself" Albus said smiling but was met with stone-like expressions

"Mr Dumbledore you are charged with the following; child endangerment, fraud, child abuse, kidnapping, will tampering, endangering Magical Britain, interfering with law enforcement, abuse of power and erecting wards around a muggle home. How do you plead?" the judge read

"Not guilty" the older man said simply

Harry was called to the stand first

Once the veritaserum was administered the questioning started

"Harry, will you tell us about your time at your family's home?" she asked

Harry kept quiet for a bit

"I know it's a difficult questioning but it'll definitely help the case move forward" she said sympathetically

After a deep breath he started "I was raised by my uncle and aunt, but they were never kind to me. My earliest memory is receiving a beating for something my cousin had done. My bedroom for the first eleven years of my life was a cupboard underneath the stairs which was smaller than the beds at Hogwarts. My aunt had me removing weeds from the garden, cooking, cleaning and doing washing by the time I was seven and my uncle would give me beatings should the tasks not be performed to their satisfaction or even if Dudley, my cousin, thought it was entertaining. I would be left at home with water and two slices of bread while they went out to feast. It changed slightly when I got my Hogwarts letter, they were scared that I might hurt them. so I got the smallest bedroom in the house but the treatment never changed throughout the years as they continued to threaten me or completely ignore me. Before Sirius came and got me I wore second hand clothes from my cousin who was twice or maybe thrice my size"

"And can you tell us about your time at Hogwarts?" Amelia asked

"Barring nearly dying it's been the best time of my life, I made great friends and experienced a whole new life. There were times when I had wished that I would have rather stayed with the Dursley's too but mostly it's been positive" he smiled

"Did you know that your parents had left a will for you?" Amelia asked

"No I have never heard about anything about a will" Harry answered

"Did you give permission to anyone to make withdrawals out of your account?" She asked

"Only Molly Weasley so that she could buy my school supplies" he answered

"That's all I need from you Harry" she said "No further questions" she took her seat once more

Dumbledore stood and adjusted his robes; he walked over to the stand

"Harry my boy" he started

"Objection your honour, Mr Dumbledore should not address the witness in such a familiar tone" Amelia said

"Sustained, Mr Dumbledore please address the witness as Mr Potter" the judge said

"Mr Potter, may I call you Harry?" he asked this time

"No" he said simply

"Okay then, Mr Potter did your relatives give you a roof over your head?"

"Yes"

"And did they give you food to eat?" he asked

"On occasion yes but not regularly or even enough to sustain me" Harry answered

"But they fed you"

"Yes"

"Did anyone ask you to put your life in danger at Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked

"No, but it was the right thing to do. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing"

"But you didn't have to be in danger" Dumbledore said

"You're saying I should have let Voldemort get his hands on the stone? Or let Ginny die?" he asked getting angry now "How can you stand there and say I didn't have to put my life in danger?"

"Calm down Mr Potter" the judge warned

"I apologise" he said

"Now Molly Weasley will testify that she told you she needs your key to buy school supplies, so you knew she was going to use your gold?"

"No, she was going to buy _my_ supplies"

"Did you clarify that with her?" Dumbledore asked

"I didn't think I had to, I didn't expect to be robbed" he said

"So she was to care for you free of charge?" Dumbledore asked

"She said that I was like a son to her" he said

"But you're not" Dumbledore said

Silence fell over the court, Sirius was brimming with anger and Amelia could not object because Dumbledore had just stated a fact.

"Or are you?" he pressed

"No I'm not" Harry said sadly

"So it's your own fault that your gold was not safe?" Dumbledore said

"No it wasn't, I did not instruct Gringotts to send my statement to you, I did not tell Molly to take gold for her children. I would have gladly given them all my gold if they had asked" Harry said to the court

"No further questions" Dumbledore took his seat once more and Harry was allowed to go back to his seat next to Bella and Sirius who both gave him half hug

"He's an arse" Sirius said

"No, he was right. They weren't my family, you guys are" he said smiling

The trial continued with witnesses being called to testify about the wills of Lily and James; everyone who knew them testified that the last person who should have taken care of Harry was Lily's sister. Witnesses were called to testify about the climate at Hogwarts over the last 4 years and everyone placed blame solidly at Dumbledore's feet.

McGonagall was called up as the second last witness for the prosecution; she sat down and had the veritaserum administered.

"Professor McGonagall, you have heard all the testimony here today. Do you think Albus Dumbledore should be punished for his actions?" Amelia asked

"I believe he done what he thought was best. Best for who I can't say because his motives and thought process is a mystery to us all"

"So you're saying that he never took your counsel?" Amelia asked

"No" McGonagall asked

"You never discussed anything regarding Mr Potter? Or any other student?" Amelia asked

"No, he passed down instructions and I complied" she said

"You're the deputy headmistress and you just carried out instructions?" Amelia asked

"Yes, I believed he knew better than I did"

"Were there any instructions which you would have changed?" Amelia asked

"A few yes; I would have made Mr Potter prefect not Mr Weasley, I would never have let Professor Snape or Quirrell teach, I would not have agreed to the Tri-Wizard tournament" she said "But Dumbledore said he was leading us to the light and that was the choices that needed to be made" she said

"Thank you Professor, no further questions" she said and took her seat

"Mr Dumbledore, your witness" the judge said but Dumbledore just shook his head

"The witness may leave the stand" the judge said

"The prosecution calls Albus Dumbledore" Amelia said and every member of the court sat up ready to watch the key part of the trial

The truth serum was administered and Amelia sat in her seat for a few moments before she seemed to have chosen her course of action

"Mr Dumbledore, do you care for the magical community?" she asked

"Of course I do" he said as if she were daft

"And what about Mr Potter?"

"Naturally" he said

"Why?" she asked

"Why what Amelia?" he asked her

"Why do you care about Harry and the magical community?" she asked him

He seemed to struggle to answer but the serum forced him

"I need them, they need to revere me. Without them my reputation means nothing and Mr Potter presented a means, a means for me to be even greater. I had no doubt Voldemort would kill him, especially since he was not getting any training to fight and then I would step in and claim victory. I would mourn for him as would be expected but that would be the end of Harry James Potter and only the beginning of my greatness. I would be better than Merlin" he said proudly

"Do you regret your actions?" Amelia asked

"Not for the reasons you may think, I could have planned better. I could have kept him out of the magical world and only brought him in when the time was right but I underestimated the general public's need to have him back" he said

"Have you committed the crimes you have been charged with?" she asked sadly; it was the greatest moment of her career and she was doing something she never thought she would be doing. This man was her hero for most of her life and here he was ruining that image

"Yes" he said after a battle with the serum

"No further questions" she said

"Mr Dumbledore, please make your closing statement"

"I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for the loss of a child's childhood but while that may be tragic, it would have saved lives. You don't want the truth, because you want me to protect you. You need me to protect you. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. Merlin was never questioned like this, why should I be" he said and took his seat

"Madam Bones, your closing argument?" the judge asked

"This man is guilty" she said and took her seat once more

The court was silent as the members of the Wizengamot left the room; everyone else remained seated. An hour passed before they were told that the members would be returning; the sun would be setting soon and everyone in the court was exhausted

The members re-joined the rest of the court

"The members have reached a decision?" The judge asked

"Yes we have"

"Was the decision unanimous?" he asked

"Yes it was" the member said

"What was the verdict?" he asked

"Death by the veil, to be administered immediately" he said and sat back down

"Aurors take him away" the judge said

Sirius escorted the group back to the school and gave Harry a longer hug than he would have normally. Harry took Bella's hand and led her to supper

The entire school was pestering them for news and those who knew were saying nothing; the entire hall was buzzing, waiting for the late edition of the prophet to arrive. They were enjoying a fine meal when the owls started arriving and the hall burst into chaos; Harry and Bella managed to sneak out in the chaos and find a quiet classroom.

"Are you okay?" she asked running her hands through his hair

"I am, I'm determined to have a peaceful life with you. So I just need to keep going, I also have Draco, Sirius, Andromeda, Narcissa, the Grangers, the Longbottoms, Remus and a whole bunch of other people who actually care for me now"

"As long as I stay on top of the list" she said and smiled

"You'll never leave that position. I promise" he said sitting up and taking her in his arms

"I love you Bellatrix Black" he said and kissed her

Sirius sat in front of the fire having a nightcap when the fire roared and Amelia walked through; he stood to greet her but she grabbed his face and kissed him. She pushed him back into his seat and sat on his lap

"Amelia, are you sure?" he asked

"Yes, you're fired. Now kiss me" she said and pulled him close once more

"I want to help still, I have to help Harry" he said

"You can, as a consultant. Now. Kiss. Me" she said and left no room for argument this time

 **AN – There we go everyone, when I started writing this I had no idea where it would go but yeah there we are. I hope everyone enjoyed it and reviews.**

 **Oh yeah and certain sections from Dumbledore's closing speech come from the speech by Col. Jessup in A Few Good Men.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Harry and Bella spent all their free time together over the rest of the semester; she would watch him train or they would find a quiet place where they could be together. Harry and Draco had still not continued speaking but Hermione had taken to spending more time with Draco which made Harry feel like he was wrong. He needed Draco though; so he wrote Sirius and found out if he and Lupin could come up to Hogwarts to have dinner with them.

They decided to come up on the evening of the full moon so that Moony could run around the Forbidden Forest with Sirius; they arrived at around five and saw Hermione running down to the dungeons with a potion in her hand. Sirius watched as she missed the trick step and went flying; Neville managed to catch her to everyone's surprise but the vial was smashed.

"No!" she cried

"Hermione don't worry about it, we can try and explain it to the Professor, I'm sure it was for extra credit" Harry said trying to console her

"No, it wasn't for school" she said

"Who was it for?" Sirius asked

"No one" she said and took off down the passage

"Why is your life so exciting pup?" Sirius asked

"Hey I hope you're not thinking about leaving it" Harry said sternly

"Definitely not, it's more exciting than when James was alive. He would have loved being with us" Lupin said while Sirius nodded

They walked up to one of the meeting room that the Headmaster had allowed them to use; they arrived and found that the elves had done quite a good job of making the room decent.

"They never cease to amaze me, but why so many chairs?" Harry asked

"We decided to give all your friends a chance to see their parents" Sirius said as the rest of the group's adults arrived. The Grangers looked amazed at everything that was happening

"This place is so amazing" Hermione's dad said but she still looked nervous

"Yes it is!" her mom said

The group sat down for supper and had an amazing time; everyone was reminiscing about their Hogwarts days while Draco had sat between his mom and Sirius. She was complaining about how skinny he had gotten and Sirius had been making jokes about he looked like Remus and everyone but Hermione and Draco laughed

"No!" Harry said "Please tell me it isn't true" Harry said to Draco at the one end of the table

But it had been too late the sun had set and the moon was out; Lupin started shaking.

"Harry we have a problem" Bella called from the other end of the table

"I know, Draco is a werewolf" he said getting people to the other end of the room

"Harry, Remus hasn't had his potion" Sirius said looking at the other end of the table

Sirius grabbed a shaking Draco by his shirt and threw him across the room to where Remus was

"Everyone get this side" he shouted as the rest of the room got behind Harry and Sirius

"Sirius we're going to need Padfoot to make an appearance" Harry said and tossed off his robes

"It's not going to be enough" Sirius said panicking

"It won't be" Harry said pulling his wand

"Don't hurt him" Narcissa said

"Bella get Dobby to get you out of here while Sirius and I try and keep them back" he said

The group all held hands and Dobby apparated them out of the room to safety

Sirius had taken his Animagus form and was dodging blows from Remus who was clearly the bigger threat. Draco came after Harry and he cast non-lethal spells but they weren't helping him at all as they all just bounced off Draco.

Draco pressed him into a corner and took a wild swing which Harry dodged but lost his wand in the process.

"Fuck it" he said and lunged at Draco and transformed into a black panther. He jumped over the werewolf Draco and bolted to the corner where Remus had forced Sirius into

Sirius was taken by surprise when the panther knocked Remus into the wall with all its force, next they tag teamed Draco and managed to knock him out too.

Sirius transformed back into himself and cast a spell to force Harry back into his human form; which was a painful process for Harry. While Harry recovered he put chain and muzzles on both werewolves

"What the hell was that?" Sirius said sitting in front of Harry

"There's been rumours that people have been seeing and hearing werewolves but we dismissed it"

"Someone must have been making him Wolfsbane, he went down like a tame werewolf not like Remus was in the beginning" Sirius said

"Hermione" Harry said "That's why she was so panicked earlier"

"And you what the hell was that panther?" Sirius asked

"I've been reading up on transformations and I was being pressed into a corner so I went for it" Harry said

"That was stupid, you could have hurt yourself" Sirius shouted him

"I know but we were in trouble and I didn't want to hurt Draco" Harry said embarrassed that Sirius was being so firm with him "I failed him Sirius" he said

"You did, but we'll deal with that tomorrow morning. You need to go to Madam Pomfrey and get checked out, tell her everything that happened so she'll be expecting Draco tomorrow as well" he instructed and watch Harry leave

"Dobby!" he called

"Yes Master Doggy" the elf smiled

"Take these two to the dungeons in Grimmauld place" he said and started straightening his robes. Once he left the room he saw the rest of the group waiting for him

"Is Draco okay?" Hermione asked first

"Yes Hermione but you should have told everyone what was happening with Draco. I commend you for being able to deal with it on your own for almost 8 months but you could have gotten hurt sweety" he said and gave her a hug

"Where is he now?" Narcissa asked

"I've had Dobby take him to Grimmauld place, in the dungeon so don't try and see him yet" Sirius said "I'll make sure he is okay, no one ever needs to know about his condition" Sirius said to the entire group

Everyone nodded

"Now, Bella check on Harry and have him meet me in an hour at the main doors. Everyone else; tonight was a success as far as everyone other than us is concerned. Harry and Draco made up and realised they were just stupid teens"

"Sounds like you've done this before Sirius" Johnathan joked as he rounded the corner

"I have unfortunately" he said "I guess I'm summoned to the Headmasters office?"

"Invited" the Headmaster smiled

"Same thing" Sirius said and the group laughed at him

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Harry sat at the table in the early hours of the morning waiting for Sirius to set Draco and Remus free; he sat drinking a cup of coffee and thinking about how he had missed it. Draco was supposed to be his friend; they had been bonding since the incident with his father and then Harry had missed that his friend had been going through something pretty traumatic. He heard footsteps and turned in his seat and saw them; they all looked completely exhausted from the night's activities, Harry felt tired too.

"Harry and Draco, I'd like to talk to the two of you" Remus said sounding exhausted

"Remus I'll do it don't worry, go get some rest" Sirius said

"No, let's both talk to them rather" Remus said taking a seat opposite Harry

"I'm disappointed in the two of you; Draco really needed you Harry and you couldn't put your feelings aside and try and understand things from his perspective. Draco you really need to open up more because keeping things to yourself is a dangerous path to walk down" Sirius said

"In the beginning when I was at Hogwarts I went through my changes on my own and it was horrible. I can only imagine how terrible you been feeling Draco; but once James and Sirius had figured out my secret my life was so much better and that was before they became Animagus. The Animagus form provided them protect but they provided me support and friendship. I know Hermione has been helping you but you needed Harry and he needed you" Remus said

"It was irresponsible for you to hide it and for you not to pick up that something was wrong with Draco" Sirius said with so much disappointment in his voice that both teens couldn't meet his eyes anymore.

"I'm sorry I let you down Draco, I never meant to hurt you" Harry said

"I'm sorry I hid something dangerous" Draco said

"It's useful too" Remus said "On full moon you can train to fight werewolves in your Animagus form and keep Draco company"

"And we'll send you potions monthly to make the entire process a little easier and less visible to the public" Sirius said

"Thanks guys" Draco said

"Marauders watch out for each other" Remus said

"Messer's Padfoot, Moony, Hunter and Apollo" Sirius said

"Doesn't sound bad at all" Harry said

"Now go get some rest, we'll get you back to Hogwarts at 7 so you can make it for breakfast" Remus saod

The boys went upstairs while the two men sat at the table

"They'll be the death of us" Sirius laughed after a minute

"Never thought I'd be raising kids with you Padfoot" Remus laughed

"I need to see Amelia after I drop them off and let her know what happened" Sirius said seriously now

"I'll take them back if that would help?" Remus offered

"It would thanks, one more thing Remus. Maybe you should set an example for Draco? Show him that being a werewolf doesn't mean you can't do good and be an upstanding member of society"

"Padfoot you know I would but no one will hire me and I'm not taking your money" Remus responded

"Well Amelia is hiring private security agencies to help fight Voldemort and yours truly has started a company so will you work with me? Black Wolf security is the name" he smiled

"Partners then?" Remus asked

"Yes. 50/50 split"

"Okay Sirius, I'll do it" he said and shook his best friends hand

After the incident things went back to normal at Hogwarts; Harry and Draco were closing than ever and a new interesting development had happened. It was two weeks after the entire group knew about Draco's furry little problem; the group sat at the Slytherin table that morning. Draco reached for the toast at the same time as Hermione and their hands had connected. It was the first of many accidental touches; some not so accidental.

Harry watched as they held hands while they worked in the library when they thought no one was watching; he received a smack from Bella for laughing.

"They actually make each other better" Bella said to him

"They do, and she supported him when no one else did. I guess she really learned a lesson from our fight" he said laying on one of the benches

"She did, we had a long talk; Hermione and I" she said and stood up

"I miss being at home and seeing you in jeans or shorts" he said randomly

"You just like seeing me in tight clothes" she stuck out her tongue

"Well when you look so beautiful how can I help?" he smiled

"You sweet talker" she said and bent down to kiss him "We'll be home soon and then you'll get to see"

"Where's a time turner when you need one" he laughed

"Patience Mr Potter" she said in her best McGonagall impression

"Stop" he laughed

They left the room and saw Hermione and Draco sneak into a classroom

"If you laugh I won't kiss you for a week" she said sternly so he catcalled them instead

"What? I didn't laugh" he smiled

"You're so much like Sirius" she said shaking her head

Sirius arrived at the Ministry early that morning and went up to Amelia's office; he found her sitting behind her desk and looking through what seemed to be case files.

"Hey, do you have a minute?" he asked

"I do, what can I do for you?"

"I just need to talk to you about something" he said

"Private or work-related"

"Private, yesterday we went to Hogwarts to sort out this thing between Draco and Harry" he started

"It didn't go well"

"I wouldn't be here if it did, but long story short Draco is a werewolf" he said

"The fight before school started?" she asked after a few quiet minutes

"I think so yes, but you don't need to worry. We'll get him Wolfsbane potions every month and a few pepper ups and such to keep the rest of the student body in the dark. I spoke to Johnathan as well and he will allow Remus and me on the grounds during a full moon to help"

"That's okay, but one attack Sirius and I will have him thrown out of Hogwarts. Times are difficult and we can't have him making life more difficult"

"That's fair, otherwise we would be acting like Dumbledore did" Sirius conceded

"Exactly. Now when are you taking me out you old dog?" she asked

"Since you took my virtue I think you should be taking me out" he laughed

"Your virtue was given away a long time ago" she laughed "Come over for dinner tonight?"

"I'll be there at seven"

"A minute later and I'll close the floo" she joked as he left

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	31. Chapter 31

**AN – A long delay I know. Life gets in the way is all I can say, but enough about that here's**

 **Chapter 31**

Harry and Draco were running around the lake before they were due for the end of semester breakfast; Draco had been gaining back a lot of the weight he had been losing when he didn't have the support of all his friends.

Draco started sprinting towards the main doors and Harry followed but Draco was faster on foot, they had enjoyed training together and during the full moon Harry had mastered his Animagus form and could now transform as smoothly as what Sirius did. They were to report to the ministry later so he could get registered alongside Sirius.

They entered the main doors and found Sirius and Remus waiting for them

"Old men" Draco said smiling

"Children" Remus responded laughing

"What are you guys doing here?" Harry asked

"We're here to help with the safety of the students, we'd like you two to assist us" Sirius explained and handed them papers

"Under that you'll be able to fight death eaters without repercussions because you'll be interns for the Black Wolf security company" Remus said

"So are we getting paid?" Draco asked

"After you sign that you'll be entitled to five hundred galleons a month and you'll be on duty every morning from seven to twelve" Sirius said

"Okay" Harry said and looked at Draco

"It's fine by me too. We should go get done then" Draco said and the two teens went off to their rooms.

After his shower Harry found a set of armour on his bed, after putting it on he realised that it was meant to go under his clothes so he put on a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt and his favourite pair of sneakers before heading down to breakfast

Breakfast was a quick affair for the school as they had planned to leave an hour earlier so that whoever was planning an attack would not be prepared for them. Harry and Draco along with three Aurors made sure that everything was checked on the train before they let anyone board.

Harry had learned new detection spells from the Aurors; they used them on the luggage to ensure nothing dangerous was being brought onto the train as well. Draco questioned the process as he felt that there was not anything that would be dangerous coming out of the castle but they found a few cursed items which silenced him

"Constant vigilance" Harry mimicked Moody and immediately received a stinging jinx to the leg

"All talk Potter" Moody said appearing from behind the train

"Yeah he is" Draco laughed and received a stinging jinx as well

"It seems so are you, we are at war boys. Now I'm not saying you should halt your lives but you need to be aware that there are people out to kill you and you need to live accordingly" he said seriously

"Yes sir" they said together

"Now let's see here" he said taking out a piece of parchment "Every half an hour I need you to walk the corridor, I'll be up front keeping an eye on the tracks with two Aurors. Sirius and Remus will switch out with you and they'll be starting, so go join your friends for a bit and remember what I told you" he said to them

They found their friends in a compartment discussing the new security measures

"Maybe these two can tell us" Susan said

"Tell you what?" Harry said taking a seat beside Bella

"Why are you on the security team?" Neville asked

"Because we've been trained to" Draco said "We can fight"

"Why wasn't anyone else trained then?" Susan asked

"Because no one else is stepping up, you all knew Draco and I train and Neville joined for a while but no one else asked to be included. Hermione" Harry pointed at the bushy haired girl "is helping by fine tuning our training every few weeks and has learned a few defensive spells along with Bella but they both want to stay out of the fight which is everyone's choice" Harry said

"Well I'd like to join" Susan said proudly

"You'll need to talk to your aunt first, so would anyone else who'd like to join. We don't need permission slips but your parents need to know because you will get hurt"

"There's many people who'd like to learn to protect themselves, maybe you two could teach a class or something?" Hermione said

"Maybe after the summer, we have a fairly busy summer planned and both Draco and I would like to rest as well as I'm sure we're entitled to" Harry said

"I'll spread the word and Daphne can ask her father, I'll try and find her when the train stops" Susan said "But I'd like to learn offensive spells as well, I want to fight"

"Fine" Draco said "But don't complain because you asked for it" he said with an evil smile

"That smirk doesn't put me off Malfoy" she said angrily

Sirius and Remus opened the door and let the boys out

"It's been quiet, just keep an eye on a set of Ravenclaw's towards the front of the train" Remus said

"We will" They said and went walking, it was an experience seeing how the rest of the school interacted. Most groups were made up of only one house, and few were made up of two; it was only their group which included someone from at least three houses.

"So how are things going with Hermione?" Harry asked after they checked in on the supposedly suspicious Ravenclaw students

"It's going okay, we talk a hell of a lot about our backgrounds and often I'm left with red faced because she bests me in arguments. But I love being with her, she makes me happy and she pushes me to open up" Draco said

"And the blood purity stuff?" Harry asked because he know Draco had no one else to talk to about it

"I've apologised to her and thanked her for everything she's done for me"

"Even the punch?" Harry laughed

"Even the punch, no I know non-magical people fight dirty" he laughed "Don't tell Hermione that"

"I won't" Harry smiled

"How are things with my Aunt Bella?" Draco asked

"Weird some days, especially when people remind of the woman that once was. She's still worried that people see that person and not the girl I'm dating; it doesn't help that there are people who still bring up her past. That's really the only bad part, other than that we have a fantastic relationship, there's no one I'd rather be with" he smiled

"I think it's almost time to switch out again, shall we go find those two oldies" Draco laughed and Harry nodded

The train ride went off without a hitch, once everyone was back at Potter manor Harry and Draco went to the training room to test out the armour they were given. Susan decided to go down and see what they were practicing

Harry was firing off a barrage against Draco's shield which was holding up for the time being but was starting to show some cracks. Harry switched tactics and started firing of simple spells but threw in one high powered banishing curse every four or five spells

Draco decided to counter by conjuring hundreds of bees and setting them on Harry, then he prepared to cast an water summoning spell in response to Harry's flames which he knew was coming. As Harry conjured the flames he was hit with a blast of water which meant that the bees were still on him, Draco cast a smoke screen next and then an invisibility spell. Harry quickly cast a spell which produced a gust of wind and conjured sand to find the invisible Draco but Draco had already positioned himself behind Harry and cast a powerful blasting spell which sent Harry flying forward into the wall.

Head bleeding Harry decided to switch to the sword of Gryffindor and Draco summoned a spear to keep Harry far enough away but Harry summoned a shield and managed to close in on Draco. Harry struck but Draco leaned back and then punched Harry back

"And you say muggles fight dirty" Harry said

"You need to be prepared for anything" Draco said

"Wait how do you know who won?" Susan piped up

"Time, we duel for thirty minutes" Harry said and pointed up at the clock above the door

"Oh" she said

"So are they looking for us?" Harry asked

"No, I wanted to see how you guys trained" Susan said

"And are you going to join us?" Harry asked

"Maybe not immediately, I think maybe we should start with just the defensive spells with Hermione" she said and left the room

"Foolish" Draco muttered

"Hey go easy on Sue, not every can fight but she's willing to stand with us. That deserves your respect" Harry said and dragged Draco up the stairs. They found Sirius sitting in a chair reading the Daily Prophet

"Go change we're leaving soon" he said to Harry

"Finally becoming legal hey" he smirked

"It's time, Draco you should get changed too; Remus said he would like to take you somewhere"

"Okay" he said and followed Harry up the stairs

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**AN – Hi guys and girls. Sorry for the massive delay but things in my life have delayed this so much, but on the plus side I have written the final fight between our hero and his foe. Nothing in between this and that chapter has been written though. I know I know, I'll try my best to get it all written. You guys are awesome and your reviews are so amazing!**

 **Here you go!**

 **Chapter 32**

The first few weeks went by quite quickly for the occupants of Potter Manor; they fell into a routine and Bellatrix Black was none too happy with it. Every morning Harry would pop into her room saying his good byes and then he would leave with Draco, Sirius and Remus till two or three in the afternoon. Then he'd be holed up in the training room with someone until supper where he'd eat and sit next to her to catch up on her day, this was always interrupted by Hermione or her parents who had found some new amazing thing about the magical world, then he would go wash and grab a book on defence or some obscure magic.

She knew that she was being a little sensitive about it; but she couldn't help it. She had found that the house elves had kept every newspaper since the early 50s and she couldn't help but read up on the woman she once was. She was in tears that day and when Harry asked she told him she wasn't feeling well and it was lady troubles. She needed him to tell her she would be okay and that person would never exist but she couldn't voice her fears to him. So she wrote it all down in a diary and stowed it deep within her trunk.

She just had to pretend everything was normal; he needed her to be strong and she would be. She decided to get done earlier today before Harry left so she could spend time with him as he ate. She made her way down the stairs while pulling her hair into a pony tail when she noticed how quiet the house was.

She found the Grangers at the table having coffee

"Morning, where are the others?" she asked

"Apparently there was an attack at the Ministry just before they were about to leave so they had to rush there" Hermione said holding up a note

"Is there no news station that we can see what's going on?" Hermione's mom asked

"No mum, we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the newspaper to come. Or more likely Harry and Draco will tell us when they get home" she said

"That's a bit odd, news should travel faster" she shook her head at her daughter's explanation

"It is the situation we find ourselves in. We should do something constructive though, I know an owl dropped off the Intel pack on Voldemort this morning and we still haven't looked at the information the private detective brought since we were waiting for Harry to join us. Let's go through it and make notes on important information?" Bellatrix said looking over at the paperwork on the table

"Okay, shall we start on Voldemort?" Hermione asked

"Yes" she said ripping off the lid of the Voldemort box as they had taken to calling it and spread out the information by year

"Okay, Tom Marvolo Riddle was born on 31 December 1926 to Merope Gaunt who died in childbirth. Hermione make a note, we need to look up the Riddle line to see if there are any in the magical world, I know there's something about the Gaunts in one of the journals written by my Great grandfather. He grew up in an orphanage and that's where Dumbledore found him and next is his school career" she said sliding the document to Hermione

"He was in Slytherin, but that we knew because he told Harry that in second year. He done well throughout his schooling and received an engraved trophy for Special Services to the School. He graduated in 1945 with 11 owls and 6 Newts" Hermione read

"After that there are a few employment contracts for him but nothing significant and then he disappeared. Around 1965 he reappeared and sought out the Defence against the dark arts post but Dumbledore, now Headmaster, turned him down." Hermione continued

"And then the war happened and the rest is history" Bella said

"Yes, now I'll take the Riddle line and check through the private investigators files and you look for that journal?" Hermione asked

"Yes…" she started but then the floo lit up and Sirius stepped through

"Bella, good you're up. Harry and Draco are in St Mungo's for a few scraps but the healer wants to keep them there for monitoring since they both exhausted themselves magically and she wants to make sure they don't go back into the field and permanently damage their cores" he said breathlessly

"What about you?" She asked

"I'm okay, thanks to Harry" he said shaking his head "He saved the Ministry today and there's no doubt he'll get an order of Merlin. He also managed to keep Voldemort at bay again today so we really need to get through those" he pointed at the now opened documents

"We are working through it. Everything left there" she pointed to the Voldemort box "Is the battles that were fought in the war" she said

"Keep those for Harry I'm sure he would like to compare it to today" Sirius said and poured himself a drink

"What about the Riddle box?" He asked

"Hermione was about to work through it, I was going to look through Grandfather Pollux's journals for a mention of the Gaunt family" Bella explained "But I want to see Harry first"

"We can go this afternoon, he needs to speak to Amelia and Kingsley first and then the press. Then we can see him" Sirius explained and could see the teens expression turn to anger "Bella, I promise you'll see him today"

"Okay" she said and left the room

"What's wrong with Bella? She's been on edge for weeks" he asked the Grangers

"We don't know" Hermione's father answered

"I'll go talk to her" he said shaking his head, they spent all day with her and they couldn't tell him what was wrong.

"Trixie" he said entering the study and saw her crying

"Please leave me alone" she said when he came closer

"No Trixie, this is not how it works in the Black family anymore" he said sitting next to her "No more secrets"

They sat in silence for a while before she spoke up

"What if I become her?" she asked and showed him a newspaper photo that she took out of her pocket

"You won't" he said simply

"How can you say that? It happened before" she asked

"Because I'm a firm believer in Nurture over Nature. That woman came to be through a set of circumstances that will never happen again. Harry won't let it happen Bella, he fights like a demon for his future and you are that future. I wish I could show you what I… wait I can. Come with me" he pulled her down to the dungeons where he had found a pensieve. He pulled the memory from his mind and then they dove in

 _She saw them walk into the floo_

 _It was chaos in the ministry atrium; they walked into a fight. A spell flew towards Sirius' face but Harry knocked him sideways and threw a few blasting curses at the hooded figures._

" _Get behind the fountain, we need to keep them out of the ministry" Harry shouted_

 _She watched him run and then drop to his knees and slide across the floor firing off a dozen spells which hit their targets. Pulled a hurt Auror into cover and cast a few spells to keep the man alive_

" _Draco upstairs, get them to close off the floo otherwise we'll only have more casualties" he said and Draco ran while Sirius provided cover fire_

 _Voldemort walked into the atrium and then Bella knew that the fight would only get more intense, Harry had told her about the graveyard and the skill the man had with a wand._

" **Why was Harry leading?" she asked quickly**

" **I don't know, he just saw the chaos and decided he knew what to do" Sirius said**

 _She turned back to the fight; Voldemort had organised his forces and were making their way toward the fountain and beyond that the elevators. Harry kept cutting down his forces but many of his curses were blocked by Voldemort who seemed to have taken up defending his forces._

" _Harry the floo is cut off but the Minister's floo can't be sealed and he is due any minute" Draco said_

" _Don't you have good news" he growled and set off a new volley of curses many of which Bella had not seen before_

" _They've sealed off the elevators as well. Voldemort can't take the Ministry unless he gets the minister" Draco said_

" _Which is his floo?" Remus asked_

" _The nearest one" he pointed_

" _That will leave us in the open!" Sirius shouted as he fired off another curse_

" _Sirius, I need Padfoot to grab the minister as soon as he sets foot through that grate. Draco, Remus you are with me we're going to divert them away to give Sirius the best chance" he said and withdrew the elder wand and fired off curses at twice the rate he had before_

" _Defend yourselves" Voldemort shouted_

" _Cut them down" Harry snarled as a piercing hex caught his midriff_

 _The floo activated and the Minister stepped through with not a care in the world. Harry took the distracted to blast Voldemort's entire force off their feet with a gust of wind; everything happened quickly after that, Sirius grabbed the minister and Harry, Draco and Remus transfigured the fountain into a wall between themselves and the death eaters_

" _Mr Potter what happened to my Aurors?" he shouted_

" _These got cut down and we've closed off the floo to prevent further casualties" Harry said_

" _Harry the wall won't hold" Sirius warned_

" _Minister, please open the lift. No one will be able to get in after us" Draco said_

" _We can flood the atrium, it's one of the defences" the Minister stuttered out_

" _Harry, Sirius get in" Remus shouted_

 _Sirius turned at the moment the wall came down and Voldemort sent off piercing, cutting, blasting and killing curses at the doors but Harry managed to keep the spells at bay as he made his way backward but then Voldemort got a blasting hex through Harry's defences and he was blasted into the elevator and broke his left arm_

The memory ended and the two Blacks came out of the memory

"You said a few scraps! He broke his arm Sirius" she shook her head

"Well I should have added in comparison" he said in reply

"You're an idiot sometimes" she said "Is he okay though?" she asked

"He is, so is Draco" he laughed

"That's Hermione's concern" she said and went back upstairs where she found the journal she was looking for

They spent the rest of the morning piecing together the years Voldemort was missing and the curious case of the Riddle family. At least it was curious to the Muggles

"Why does it feel like we're the only two people who don't understand why you're not worried about an entire family dying of unknown causes? Perfectly healthy people don't just drop dead" Mrs Granger said

"They do if a killing curse is used" Sirius said

"But Hermione said Harry survived that" Mr Granger said

"Something no one can explain, but at least now we know a wizard killed the Riddle family and that's why we can't find any Riddle family members"

"I think a trip to Little Hangleton is in order before the summer is over" Sirius said

"Can we come along?" Hermione asked

"We'll discuss it but we need to leave now to see Harry and Draco" Sirius said looking up at the clock

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	33. Chapter 33

**AN – Two chapters today, the story is entering the final stretch now. We're almost to the final confrontation now. Let's hope the delays stay far away from the story**

 **Here we go for…**

 **Chapter 33**

"Now we have our mission for today" Sirius said to the room

They had assemble a team to investigate Little Hangleton and then he and Harry would go to the orphanage. The team consisted of a curse breaker, Bill Weasley, and a few fighters; Moody, Harry, Draco, Sirius and Remus. They had decided that the girls would stay behind since they didn't know what they were in for

"We leave in five" Moody said taking command

Harry took Bella's hand and led her to his room. They had talked about the newspapers and Harry had helped her deal with it; all it had taken was a visit to Longbottom manor where Frank and Alice looked at her with nothing but love in their eyes. It settled her, she knew that the Bellatrix who hurt people was purely the potion she was under.

"I wanted to give you this" he said taking a box

"What's inside?" she asked

"Open it" he smiled

She followed his instruction and found a bracelet and a ring; the ring was a simple band made of goblin silver with a single diamond in it. The bracelet was more interesting; also made from goblin silver it had various charms hanging from it, one was his Animagus form perfectly capture in silver and another his initials HJP carved onto a little silver heart.

"It's beautiful" she said smiling

"I'm glad you like it, I know a lot has happened in your life and I want you to know I'm not going to give up on us. So with this ring I'd like to make you a promise" he said and picked up the ring out of the box "I promise that when this is all over I will make you my wife if that's what you want. I promise that I'll love you and protect you until then and every day after that" he smiled and put the ring on her waiting finger

"How did I get so lucky?" she smiled and snuggled closer to him

"I'm the lucky one" he said and kissed her deeply

The walked down the stairs and saw the team waiting for him, he nodded and kissed her cheek

"Come back alive" she said

"Always"

The team disapparated and appeared in the woods outside the town, casting a barrage of notice-me-not and invisibility charms on themselves they made their way into the town. Moody and Bill took point with Sirius and Remus bringing up the rear.

They appeared at the Gaunt house first, it was a dilapidated shack for all intents and purposes. Bill checked for wards and found none.

"There's a snake on the other side of the door but it's not alive, no other occupants" Moody said his eye spinning

"In we go then" Sirius said. The group stepped into the house and started investigating the surroundings which would have been the home to Voldemort's mother. They found a photos but nothing recognisable

"Nothing to help us here then?" Moody asked

"Doesn't seem like it, I just expected more you know? The Gaunt family was quite wealthy and this" Bill said "Makes my family look like billionaires"

They turned and walked out. But something felt wrong to Harry

"Sirius, Voldemort grew up in an orphanage right?" he asked

"Yes pup" he said

"Which means he had to hide things, I know because I hid things from the Dursley's all the time under the floorboards. Moody can you…" he started

"Already on it lad" Moody answered and walked around the house scanning the floor "Got it! Weasley in here, time to earn your money" he shouted

The protections on the box were more complex than Bill had ever seen and that was saying something as he spent most of his time in Egypt with Gringotts getting into ancient tombs.

"Okay we need to be careful, there are three curses on this that are all tied into one another and need to be broken all at once. Fortunately two of them can be broken with brute force, Sirius and Harry that will be your job. Here" he said and handed them two sets of spectacles

"And here you thought you were done with glasses" Sirius barked with laughter

"Moody, Remus and Draco keep watch in case anything comes from outside. Okay Harry do you see the green dome?" he asked and Harry nodded

"I need you to touch your wand to it and pour your magic into it when I say so. Sirius same goes for you but you need to focus on the blue cube. I'll work on the black diamond"

Bill kept casting different spells until the black diamond became grey and the blue cube started flashing "Sirius that's your cue" he said clearly struggling. Sirius complied and immediately Bill looked more relaxed. "Okay, let's continue"

He continued working on the diamond until it became a milky colour and started rotating. He muttered 'Shit' under his breath

"Bill, what needs to happen now" Harry asked

"It keeps varying the power needed to shift its colouring but as soon as it does I need you on that dome" he said

"Got it" Harry said

The diamond rotated faster and then went orange; Harry poured his magic into the green dome for a few minutes and then all three the diamond, the dome and the cube vanished. Bill opened the box and saw a ring sitting in the middle it.

"Impressive" Sirius said and reached out for it but was blasted backward by Harry

"It's talking in Parseltongue, its calling out for someone to wear it" he said

"Weasley pack that thing away and let's get out of here" Moody said

Bill levitated the ring into a container and then the group left the area. Harry and Sirius making a stop at Gringotts to drop off the latest soul container. The goblins were glad to have another one but advised in future that it would be better to leave the containers in their hiding place as Voldemort may look for them and find out that someone had discovered his secret.

Harry and Sirius left the bank and made their way to the orphanage, Harry felt more apprehensive about this visit than the morning activity. He wasn't fazed that he may need to fight but finding out about Voldemort's past worried him for some reason

They arrived at the muggle orphanage and it was in a poor state; Sirius took lead and found the woman in charge. She was frightfully old and looked ready to keel over at any moment

"Hi, I was wondering if you could possibly help us?" he asked

"What do you want?" she asked in a voice that was tired and hoarse

"We just have a few questions about a boy who used to be in your care" Sirius said carefully

"You can't expect me to know about every child who has walked these halls" she spat

"His name is Tom Riddle" Harry said quickly hoping to jog her memory

"Of all the names you could have mentioned that one is the one I hate the most. I was in my late teens when he was born here on this property, no family to claim him. A more beautiful baby I have never seen, he was perfect. But then life happened to the boy and it soured him, it made him mean. You see things always happened around Tom, we found him on the roof once when the other boys were chasing him. A harsher beating was never given to a child under this roof; we had the department here for weeks regarding the safety of a child because one of the neighbours had complained about his roof climbing."

"What other things happened?" Sirius asked

"Children always complained about having headaches around him or the room felt too cold when he was around. They took to calling him freak and the matron called him boy; which was odd because she knew every child's name. At one point I believed the boy to have the devil in him and then some man came here to invite him to a school, a special school they said. We were glad to be rid of him for 10 months of the year, things were peaceful. Well as peaceful as a place overrun with children can be. When he got older I realised that the devil was in this boy, no doubt about it, I was raised catholic and until that day I did not believe in the devil but now I do"

"What made you realise that?" Sirius asked

"Anger bubbled beneath that beautiful façade he showed the world. In his eyes, you could see the fury he held for the world. I warned the matron and she told me there was nothing we could do and we would have to wait until he became old enough or until he did not return here. It was one summer day when he woke up early and disappeared for the day, he was a teen then maybe about 17, he returned that night and I could see he was less of himself than before. He had found a place to get rid of some of that fury, he did not return after that summer" she said with finality

"Thank you"

"Now away with you, take that memory with you because I never want to hear that name ever again" she said

Harry and Sirius arrived back home just before the sunset; they were drained both magically and emotionally. Speaking to the woman at the orphanage had opened their eyes to a boy just like Harry who became the thing Harry now needed to end. He had created Harry through the same circumstances that created him

Sirius gave the teen a hug before they went to relay what they had learned. Harry sat down next to Bellatrix and let Sirius tell the story.

"So we went to the orphanage…" he started

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Arriving back at Hogwarts felt odd to say the least to Harry and Draco; they still wore they armour under their school clothes but attended class. It was a complete 180 from their summer where they were constantly going out on missions or researching something; now that pace seemed hopelessly too slow for them.

It was the second when they were called into the Headmaster's office

"Boys I'm glad you're here" Johnathan smiled at the two boys

"Any time Headmaster" Draco said cordially

"So the reason I called you here. I would like you two to take over the defence extra classes, I want the students to be able to keep themselves safe when the attack happens"

"Because the Auror's need to be stationed somewhere else?" Harry asked

"Correct, now your godfather and Remus have offered to cover the defence classes between them and be stationed here permanently" he said "They felt you might be better to teach the extra class"

"We'll do it Headmaster but I'd really like not having to waste time in classes" Harry started "Would it be possible to take NEWTS earlier? I think I could pass them, maybe not potions but that was always a lost cause"

"How about I arrange for a competency exam in two weeks for all your subject and if you pass that I'll get NEWT administrators in?" the Headmaster offered

"That would be great thank you Headmaster" Draco smiled

"Good luck boys, I'll need lesson plans for Wednesday night by tomorrow morning" he said making notes in his diary

"We can give you that now Headmaster, we plan in tests their shields and stamina. I had problems with that in the morning but Harry really helped" Draco said and looked for Harry to nod that he was happy with that.

"Perfect, Sirius and Remus would be proud. You can be excused from classes to prepare for your competency exams" he said and handed them each a slip of paper

The boys walked out of the meeting feeling much better about the year that would follow. They made their way to the library

"Can we find an unused classroom instead, I don't like being quiet" Harry said "And then we can do practical application as well"

The found an unused classroom which was well lit thanks to the massive windows it had. Harry called Dobby very quickly the room had been cleaned and all furniture had been removed; the excitable elf popped away once he was done.

"I wonder why this isn't used, it's so much better than almost all the classes" Harry said

"Magical people prefer grander surroundings with much less light, this was probably used by a muggle studies professor" he said thinking of Hermione's dislike for the dungeons

"So we'll need desks" Harry said and conjured a writing desk similar to the one Sirius had at home

"Show off" Draco said. Not to be outdone he conjured a desk which was an exact replica of the desk his father had once used

"And I'm the show off" Harry laughed

"Well let's get started" Harry said and sat down at the writing desk he conjured

"So what are our strengths?" Draco asked

"I would say Transfiguration, Defence and Charms should be easy practical passes. Theory is poor across the board so I think out of the 14 days we should split it 60/40"

"During the week we do theory and then practical on weekends?" Draco offered

"Sounds perfect to me, should we get Hermione to draw us up a schedule?" Harry asked

"I think so, let's do Defence till lunch and then we can ask her" Draco said and pulled out his textbook.

They managed to work through the text by lunch but had figured that a lot of the books theory covered wandless and silent casting with a few chapters relating to dark creatures.

"It's almost like they feel that everything else has been covered by now" Harry bemoaned

"Well you've been casting wandless for a year now but not consistently and mostly silent so it's no surprise you'd feel that way. Wandless magic is extremely difficult and I'm sure most people will only get away with a simple levitation charm" Draco said shaking his head

"Okay but then what about the rest of the book? Dark creatures which were all covered in first and third year and then vampires and the lethifold?" He asked

"Well in defence OWLS we done a lot regarding defensive spells and shields and very little regarding dark creatures" Draco said "It sounds like you're getting nervous" he bumped his friend

"No, I just expected it to be more difficult" he said

They joined the rest of the group sitting at the Gryffindor table

"Where were you two?" Hermione asked after she kissed Draco

"The Headmaster wanted to talk to us regarding the extra defence classes. He asked us to run them since most of the Aurors are being removed from Hogwarts leaving only Remus and Sirius here" Harry said

"That's quite a responsibility, won't it affect your year and then whet about next year? We have NEWTS" She asked the question to Draco more than Harry

"Not if Harry and I can pass the competency exam in two weeks' time and then we'll get to sit our NEWTS earlier" Draco explained

"Do you think you could? I mean you still have two years of education to get through" Neville asked

"I'm not looking to get the best NEWTS in the history of magical education, I plan on two maybe three O's and the rest can be Acceptable" Harry said "We can hold our own next to Aurors so I'm positive defence is no issue, I'm a registered Animagus which is supposed to be the most difficult transfiguration" he looked to Hermione who nodded "Then there's charms where both Draco and I can cast corporeal Patronus charms" he said

"You'll need revision schedules then" she said excitedly. The rest of the group only watched the exchange between the two; none of them would have put Hermione and Draco together but here he was making her happy and she made him more pleasant.

"We were actually hoping you'd help us with that. We figure we're quite capable in Transfiguration, Defence and Charms for practical application so we'll leave those for the last weekend but the theory and Potions and Herbology are going to be problems. Could you draw us up a schedule with that in mind love?" he asked her

"Of course I can, will both weekends be for practical application?" she asked

"Yes, we've been excused from classes for the next two weeks as well" Harry added in and went back to speaking to Bella

"I'll give it to you tonight, what did you do before lunch?" she asked

"Defence theory but Harry isn't happy with the book so we may need to do some independent study on dark creatures" Draco said to her "Or we could ask Professor McGonagall what is generally covered in the NEWT?"

"I'll ask her, she may be more inclined to help me instead of you" she said rubbing his leg

"Thank you Mione" Harry smiled "See you in the classroom Draco" he said and ran off with Bella

"Something we said?" Hermione said

"No, they were talking about 'House' business so I think it's a Black thing" Susan said

"Or they just went snogging" Justin said to her

"That doesn't sound like a bad plan" Draco said and dragged Hermione off with him to the amusement of their friends

Wednesday came quickly and Harry watched the students filter into the main hall for the defence classes. He had asked Bella and Hermione to help them out with the younger years who seemed very excited to be learning from Harry Potter.

"Alright then everyone let's get started. I'm Draco Malfoy for those who don't know and the Headmaster has asked Harry and I to lead these defence training sessions. Today we will be doing shield charms" he said to the general groaning of the assembled group

"What did you think we'd be doing?" Harry asked them

"I thought we'd learn how to fight" a voice shouted from the crowd

"First you need to know how to defend yourself and others" Draco said calmly

"The best defence is a good offense" a Ravenclaw shouted

"Do you want to test that theory?" Harry asked him

"Yes sure" he said stepping forward

"Draco?" Harry asked

"No no, I have nothing to prove. You go ahead boy-who-lived" he smiled

The crowd moved to the fringes of the hall and Harry activated the protective ward Professor Flitwick had set up for them.

"On three you can try your best to beat me, if I land a curse on you then you lose and we can move past this foolish notion?" Harry said and watched the boy nod his acceptance "Draco if you will"

"1.. 2.. 3… GO!" he shouted

Immediately the Ravenclaw fired off curses at Harry who simply cast a shield charm and waited for his opportunity. He watched all the schoolboy jinxes be blocked by his shield but then the Ravenclaw switched tactics and used a few conjured birds and set them on Harry who, using the cover of the birds, fired off a stunner which hit true.

Draco woke the Ravenclaw and then returned to the front of the hall

"Now, we'll have the three younger years with Hermione and Bellatrix perfecting the Protego charm and the older years with Harry and myself" Draco instructed and watched the group split in two with the older years surrounding Harry and Draco

"Form a circle, what we're going to do is test your shields. Draco and I will fire off curses and jinxes at you. I want you to block with a shield charm only and I want you to keep it up as long as possible, those who we're happy with will move onto the next task next time, those who aren't will continue practicing shield charms" Harry said

"Go!" Draco shouted and started firing off stunners at seventh years, three of which fell immediately. Harry pulled his own wand and sent off tripping jinxes and stunners; standing back to back with Draco they moved in a clockwise rotation firing off curses. Harry pulled the elder wand and doubled his rate of firing, Harry was impressed with Colin who was still standing along with Ginny and Luna. Neville didn't surprise him because though the boy was shy he had some real power

After about thirty minutes only a third of the group was left standing

"Not bad" Draco said

Harry walked around waking those who had been hit

"Now a shield charm is not the best defence, the best defence is not to be there when the spell arrives" Harry said once they were all standing

"You need to keep moving, this ensures you save as much magical power for your attacks. Next week we will work on dodging" Draco said

"I know this seems simple but trust me, it has kept me alive for seventeen years." Harry announced

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order" Sirius said from the back of the room

"If you will assist then I'm sure we have enough time" Harry smiled at his godfather

They made their way into the warded zone once more

"Now remember Harry no wand" Draco said holding out his hands

"Fine fine" He said and removed both wands from their holders

Before Draco made it out of the warded area Sirius started firing off curses; Harry dodged like crazy with curses barely missing his face. Sirius smirked and then pulled a second wand which Harry had yet to see and continued his barrage. Harry was sweating about ten minutes in and watched as Sirius was setting up to an attack which would end the exercise; first he transfigured the ground to the left of Harry into sand and then brought up a wall behind Harry and forced him back against it by stepping closer. Harry sensing the end was coming summoned all his magic and waited for the attack, Sirius cast a cutting curse to his right and then a blasting curse at Harry's midsection. Harry smirked and used his magic to propel himself upward

"No fair" Sirius moaned

"What I dodged?" Harry laughed

"Technicalities pup" Sirius said and returned everything back to normal

"Now do you see? Except for the last trick Harry used no magic and he stayed untouched for almost fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is a long time in a fight" Draco said to the group

"That's enough for tonight. Please remember to practice your shields" Harry said "Hermione is standing by the door with notes on the shield charm thanks to Professor Flitwick and Headmaster Greengrass" Harry said pointing to the bushy haired girl

"See you next week" he said to the group and turned to Draco "I think it went well"

"I think so too, I know they're not impressed with the shield charm but it can save their lives" he said handing the wands back to Harry "How did you do that last move?"

"I read a book about using magic to assist your movements, it's taxing though. I feel like the exercise lasted much longer than fifteen minutes so I don't think it'll be practical in a fight" he said and watched Draco nod

"Can I borrow the book? I may have an idea" the blonde smirked

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"In small doses it won't drain you but if you're going to jump ten feet in the air it will" Draco explained dropping his notes in front of Harry

"We're talking about using magic to help movement?" Harry asked

"Yes, I spoke to Professor Flitwick about it. Apparently he used to use the technique when he duelled" Draco said

"Okay this is all good and well Draco but we have our competency exams tomorrow" Harry said shaking his head

"Okay okay but listen to this" he said pulling out a sheet of paper out of the notes "Wizards and witches proficient in enhancing physical movements with magic are able to 'grow' their cores by up to twenty percent over varying periods of time" Draco said excitedly

"Okay that is interesting, you know we could try just using it with our hands to increase our casting rate and our feet to move faster during a battle?" Harry said standing and pulling his wand

"Cast a standard disarming charm" Draco said and Harry complied

"Okay now focus on the wand movement and let your magic flow through your arm to increase the speed of the movement?" Draco said and watched Harry's hand closely until it almost became a blur

"This is going to be amazing" he grinned

"Now combine them" Draco smirked

"Shit" Harry muttered

"What?" Draco asked "Difficult to focus your magic on both casting and enhancing movements?" he laughed

"I feel like you were expecting this" Harry growled

"Of course I was, the warnings are right here in the notes" he said and handed him the notes

"What are you two doing?" Hermione asked as she entered with Bella

"Uhm trying out a theory?" Draco said

"You're writing tomorrow idiots" Bella said and smacked each boy against the back of their heads

"We know but this is more exciting than revising theory" Harry said

"Well we need you two to protect the magical world so suck it up and get a move on" Bellatrix said to which Hermione nodded

The boys took their seats and had their notes confiscated "You'll get this back after your NEWTS" Hermione said

The day passed extremely slowly for them but with Bellatrix's words in mind they kept focused to the task at hand. Finishing their NEWTS meant that they could investigate other methods of fighting that may be useful against the enemy, it meant that they didn't have to spend all day in class or worried about homework

They spent all evening revising only leaving for dinner when time came. It was ten when they decided that studying further would not help them anymore; sneaking past Ron who was patrolling the halls and muttering about students not cleaning behind themselves, they went to bed.

The next morning Harry and Draco stepped into the Headmaster's office where they found Sirius and a ministry official waiting for them.

"Good morning boys, today you will write the practical portion of Defence and Charms, tomorrow we'll cover transfiguration and Herbology and Wednesday we shall go through potions theory and practical. Thursday we'll cover transfiguration and Herbology and Friday defence and charms" the Headmaster said

"I thought the ministry would only be involved once we wanted to do NEWTS" Harry said

"All competency exams must have a ministry official present" the man said with a smile

"And we needed Sirius here as your guardian" Johnathan smiled

"Let's begin" the ministry official pointed to the desks in the far end of the room

Harry opened the defence paper and read question one

 _Describe a Lethifold. List its differences and similarities to a Dementor_

He had the urge to look at Draco and smirk but he got to work on answering the question as comprehensively as he could. Hermione had warned against short answers and had prepped them in answering questions comprehensively

The scratching of their quills continued for the next three hours answering questions on three more dark creatures, all three unforgivable curses and various defensive spells.

Harry had rubbed his hand countless times trying to get some feeling back into it as the paper progressed. Hermione's training on fully answering questions was exhausting when he had to answer verbally but it became torturous when he had to write three paragraphs on the protego charm.

They ran down to lunch and had it in the presence of their ladies; their friends and most notably their charms notes. Harry making a point to use his left hand to eat to the amusement of the table.

"What's wrong with you hand Harry?" Hermione finally asked and he grumbled something about paragraphs and the cruciatus curse being more preferable

Lunch ended and the boys sprinted up the stairs once more; both boys using magic to move quicker through the maze that was Hogwarts corridors. Once seated they started on the charms paper which started with;

 _Discuss the patronus charm._

Remembering Hermione's words about being thorough, he ignored the numbness in his hand and started the longest and most comprehensive answer to the question ever seen. It was double the length of the textbooks explanation on the charm and included own experience

The three days of theory papers went exactly this way; Draco and Harry would have a quick run and then breakfast, then head up to the office of the Headmaster where they would spend hours scribbling away explanations to all types of questions (most pointless of which was 'Name the best fertiliser for Devil's snare and it's various other uses') and then have lunch whilst trying to cram more knowledge in before the next paper. Then they would drag themselves to dinner and then have a quick revision before heading to bed.

On Wednesday they were advised to see Madam Pomfrey by Hermione

"She has a balm you can take for your hands and you could use a pepper up before your potions practical" she said knowingly

"Is that how you can always write such long homework submissions?" Harry asked

"I'm glad you're learning. Now go before you're late" she said shooing them away

Harry and Draco entered the dungeons and saw two workstations had been prepared for them to use. They had spent all last night memorising ingredients and methods for brewing

"Today you will be preparing the Draught of living dead. The ingredients can be found in the cupboard, begin"

What followed for Harry felt disastrous, he emerged from the cupboard with all the right ingredients he was sure. He ran through the ingredients Infusion of Wormwood, powdered root of asphodel, sloth brain, Sopophorous beans, salt and water but how many beans did he need? Eleven or twelve or was it thirteen, rather than have to few he popped back and got another bean

'Okay Harry don't panic' he thought 'Look at how carefully Draco is going about it

'Okay first I need to get juices from the beans' he thought 'or do I start with the water? Water, water and salt in cauldron and then beans' he said and carefully added the water and salt to the cauldron and heard the sizzle of water hitting the hot metal

'Okay beans, I need to get the juice out. Cut them? Or Squish them? Let's see what Draco done' he thought but saw the examiner watching him 'Can't risk it, okay oranges give more juice when you squish them' he grabbed the knife and crushed the beans causing a lot a juice to come from them

'I guess that was right' he smiled and crushed all thirteen beans 'Wormwood is up first, then powdered root of asphodel' he thought confidently. Maybe potions was the subject for him without Snape here to bother him

'Two ingredients that means two stirs' he remembered Hermione saying 'now Sloth brain and all the juice' he thought and swayed around his cauldron, just like cooking he thought. Now just to get it see through

'Now anti-clockwise turns' he thought and stirred

Once

Twice

Three times

Four times 'Getting clearer and we're almost there'

"Thirty seconds gentlemen" the ministry employee said

Fifth stir 'No change, shit'

Sixth stir 'A little lighter but it's still murky, was it one or two more stirs?' he panicked

Seventh stir 'Urgh still the same, maybe if I go clockwise' he thought and added a hasty clockwise stir

"Times up! Step away from the cauldrons" The ministry employee said giving Harry no time to see if the last stir had helped

"Mr Potter!" the man exclaimed

'Should have known I'd muck it up'

"Complete mess right?" he asked

"If this is a mess then please continue messing around. In all my years I have never seen a more perfectly brewed potion. Maybe one by your ex potions Master" he praised

"What!? No way" Draco said and stepped forward "Sweet Merlin Harry this is clear as day" he said

"Now let's see" he took out a leaf and let a drop of the potion fall on it and immediately all life drained from it "Perfect!"

The boys left the dungeons and found their way to dinner and didn't exchange a single word; the shock had rendered them silent. Their friends sat watching this, could the practical have gone that poorly? Or was it just that doing both potions exams in a single day was that tiring

Hermione strode into the hall with Bella and sat next to their boyfriends

"So what happened? What potion did they have you brew?" she asked

"Uhm the Draught of living dead" Draco said

"Well it's tough alright, how did you do?" she asked and Draco only shook his head "Hermione mine was passable, Harry's. Well his was" Draco couldn't even say it. By Merlin how had Harry done it, this must be how Voldemort felt all the time he laughed to himself

"Was it that bad?" Bella asked rubbing Harry back

"No, it was perfect" Draco said

"What?!" all their friends said

"I can't believe it either. I basically just tried to remember instructions as best as I could and then I guessed some things" he said

"What do you mean by perfect?" Susan asked

"As in it was indistinguishable from water" Draco said

"Wow!" Neville said "Now you'll have to really study for the potion NEWT"

"I don't know if I ever wanna make another potion in my life" Harry said "I think I used up my luck"

The rest of the evening his friends kept asking about the potion to check if he and Draco were just playing a prank on them.

The following two days went by quickly for Harry and Draco, they had gone through the exams and now they were exhausted. Both boys slept through Saturday and made their appearances at breakfast on Sunday morning. They watched as the Headmaster walked up to their table

"Boys, after breakfast could you come around to my office?" the Headmaster asked them

"Sure Headmaster" Harry said

"So how was the week for you guys?" Harry asked feeling like he'd missed everything this week

"You would probably call it slow, but we started learning silent casting. Neville is actually quite good at it" Susan said

"That's awesome Nev, when will you guys join us for training?" Draco said

"I was actually talking about it this week to them about it" Dean said "We'd all like training after your NEWTS"

"Everyone?" Harry asked looking at his girlfriend

"I think it would be for the best" she said not meeting his eyes

"We'll talk later okay? Draco see you in 5 at the Headmaster's office" Harry said and took Bella by the hand.

Once they go to the room which Harry and Draco had made theirs he turned to face her

"What's going on my Trixie?" he asked

"You're just making this effort to fight and everyone seems so intent on joining that I feel I should try as well" she said

"You know there are other way you can help? Like Daphne Greengrass who is helping Madam Pomfrey or you can be our researcher or you can help the firsties with shields" he said to her pulling her into his arms

"You don't have to fight" he said softly

"I don't want to fight Harry" she said

"Then don't, I don't mind if you still want to train with us but if you want to stay out of the fight then that's what you do" he said and gave her a kiss

"Go see the Headmaster, I'll be okay" she said after a few minutes

Harry had now gotten used running in the halls with his magic helping him get faster; he still could cast and enhance movement at the same time

"Draco and Harry, how are you feeling after this week?" the Headmaster asked

"We were thoroughly exhausted yesterday Headmaster but today we're back to normal" Harry smiled

"That's good, now you know why they're called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests" he said

"And to think we need to sit them again" Draco said

"You're misunderstanding me. You have sat your NEWTS and I have your results here" he said holding up a page

"What?!" Harry said

"Yes Mr Potter and we're all very proud of your results" he smiled "Who shall we start with?"

"Let's start with me" Draco said

"Okay Mr Malfoy. You passed all five subjects, Outstanding for Defence, Charms, Herbology and Exceed expectation for Potions and Transfiguration. Congratulations"

"Thanks Headmaster" he said with a nod

"You passed all five subjects, Outstanding for Defence, Charms, Transfiguration and Potions and Acceptable for Herbology. Congratulations"

"Thank you Headmaster, and thank you for letting us sit these exams early"

"It's my pleasure, now onto other matters. I'm sure you'd like to move out of your dorms and we'd like to offer you each a teacher's residence. Merlin knows we have the have the space" he said

"That would be perfect" Harry said

"Now I know you're both dating students here and I'd appreciate it if they still returned to their dorms every night."

"They will Headmaster" Harry said noting that he didn't say anything about a curfew

"Now off you go. Go and celebrate, I'll show you to your new quarters tomorrow" he smiled at the two boys

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Harry panted as the sweat poured off him; he was fighting Draco, Hermione, Susan and Neville who were a formidable team. They were pushing him to new levels, what made it more challenging was that he was using his magic to enhance his casting speed which meant he was still restricted to simpler spells than the rest of them.

"Stop" Draco said "Harry I think trying this is a waste of time, we've been busy with this exercise for the last four months and we still cannot get more complex spells to be cast quicker"

"Urgh you're right! We'd be better of focusing this on the weapon training" Harry said and conjured a wooden sword

"Agreed" Draco said and conjured a spear

"Okay let's do this" Susan stepped forward with her own sword

"Anyone else?" Harry asked and saw Neville, Dean and Seamus with their own weapons; a battle axe, a sword and a war hammer respectively

"No fair" he muttered and channelled his magic

He attacked Draco first and parried his spear into Susan's path making the girl jump backward; he immediately had to move when the hammer of Seamus came swinging high and Neville's axe flew low. Harry dissolved into smoke and reappeared across the room and conjured a roman shield in front of him to block the arrows that Hermione, Justin and Bella fired.

Hannah saw her chance to move closer to Harry with her daggers but was winded when he struck her in the stomach with his sword and turned to knock her away with his body weight. She rolled away and dropped her sword to indicate she was done. Harry moved on Neville next who stood shoulder to shoulder with Seamus and Dean positioned himself behind them.

Neville came down hard with his axe and Seamus came across with his hammer; Harry went low and hit both of them on their ankles but received a blow to his shoulder by Dean who in turn received a head butt to his face and a kick to the chest

Draco had summoned a dozen more spears started throwing them with increasing speed and accuracy at Harry. Eventually one of them hit him in the chest which slowed him down enough for the next three to knock him out.

When he was woken by his friends he was sat next to Bella

"Good job Harry" Draco said "You're getting better with bigger groups, Neville and Seamus need more work if you're going to use those weapons and Hannah that was a terrible showing even though the plan was good"

"More aggression" Harry said still dizzy from Draco's attack

"Agreed, from everyone. Madam Pomfrey and Bella know their stuff so don't hold back when attacking, when we face our enemy they won't hold back so in these sessions we need to be as tough on each other as possible. Tomorrow morning I want you guys to try and use your magic when we're running as well, you're getting better at casting silently and wandlessly but our time is running out"

"What do you mean Harry?" Bella asked

"Voldemort has been quiet for a long time, we're going to face him soon. The ministry has heard that he may have more giants and the dementors. So I think we may face a winter battle here at Hogwarts" Draco explained. He had had this conversation with Harry already

"We expected an attack at Christmas but nothing came of it so I think he is preparing to take Hogwarts and use the children as ransom" Harry said

"Remember we have the group on Wednesday and we'll be making a few safety announcements in relation to this attack. Remember we need to get students to safety first and then we take on Death Eaters till and when backup arrives we'll have superior numbers" Draco said

"Draco and I will be at Gringotts tonight, as they have positive news for us but we've spoken to the headmaster and he agrees that you should help the prefects patrol while we're gone" Harry said

The group wished them luck and left the two boys alone with their girlfriends

"So what do you think the Goblin's have to tell you?" Bella asked

"I'm hoping that they've found a way to destroy the soul containers" Harry said hopefully

"I still can't find anything in the library about soul containers" Hermione said

"I'm sure that is Dumbledore's doing and I didn't think you'd find anything. That's why I didn't even bother" Draco said and kissed the top of Hermione's head

"You should go get showered quickly, they're expecting you in thirty minutes" Bella said and kissed Harry

"Stay safe" he whispered to her

"I will, now go" she smiled

The boys stepped out of the floo a minute before they were due, Sirius had decided to accompany them to the meeting. They met with Blackclaw in a boardroom of sorts; the room was intriguing as the walls were lined with weapons

"This is the war council room" he said answering the curious looks on the human faces

"These weapons are all beautiful" Draco said

"Everything Goblin made is beautiful Mr Malfoy, we pride ourselves in our work" he smiled "Now we called you here because we think we have found out how to destroy the soul containers but we'll need a few more items which certain of our curse breakers are out gathering but more importantly we need to be somewhere where there is a ton of ambient magic and the only place we can think of is"

"Hogwarts" Sirius said

"Correct, now we'll be ready to perform the ritual in a week today" Blackclaw said "Will that give you enough time to convince Mr Greengrass to allow us on site?"

"We'll need to guarantee the safety of the students" Sirius said "But House Black has made a safe place available for students and I have a plan for that with Amelia already" he said proudly

"Okay, so we should be ready to go in a week then?" Harry asked

"Yes Mr Potter" Blackclaw said

"Then we'll need Mundungus Fletcher" Draco said

"Why in the world would you need that thief" Blackclaw said with disgust

"I have to agree with Blackclaw, why do we need him? He is notoriously unreliable" Sirius asked

"Because he is notoriously unreliable, Harry and I want Voldemort to attack on our terms. So, we need to 'leak' information that we'll be performing a ritual to make Harry stronger and that we'll be using rare Goblin artefacts to accomplish this at precisely 3 on Monday morning and if we missed that time it would be gone forever. We need to leak this on Friday afternoon or evening which will hopefully force Voldemort into action. Sirius you'll take Mundungus out drinking and tell him how this is stressing you out because you're afraid Harry will become too powerful and it'll give him power no one has seen before" Draco said

"Then we have the Goblin armies pop in as soon as we have Voldemort on the premises, we put up an anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards" Blackclaw said

"Exactly" Harry said

"How do we know he'll come?" Sirius said

"Oh he'll come alright, he can't resist power" Harry laughed "Philosophers stone, Ravenclaw's diadem and Slytherin's locket. I promise he'll come"

"Well good luck Mr Potter" Blackclaw smiled

On Wednesday night Harry watched the students go through their drills; everyone had managed to increase the strength of their shields, he still wasn't happy with their movement

"Move!" Harry shouted and joined in by firing curses alongside Bella and the rest of their friends

"Standing still will get you killed, keep moving"

He watched the students try and weave through the spells being cast by his group of attackers

"That's enough" Draco said after fifteen more minutes of attacks

"Good job everyone, now remember your training and remember you need to stay safe at all times. Times are getting darker and we need to make sure that everyone keeps an eye on one another" Harry said

"Our strength lies in our unity" Draco said

"Now we don't want you fighting Death Eaters" Harry said "They have more experience and less morals, we just want you to get to safety and this training is there to give you the tools to do that" Harry said

"The light has lost enough already don't try and be a hero"

"There are those of us who have trained to take on this threat and we will" Sirius said from behind the group

"Now in case of an attack every student is to report to their common rooms, from their prefects will be able to open the floo connection and floo students to safety." Harry explained and handed out pendants to the various prefects

"These pendants will open a secure floo connection to the safe area we have set up" he explained

"So in conclusion; stay safe, remember your training, if there's trouble get to your common room" Harry said to the room and let the seriousness of the situation set in

" Now get to your common rooms, there's an hour left before curfew" Draco said and watched the group disperse

Draco took the time to tell everyone about the plan for Monday morning and what it meant for them

"Now we want you to know that we will fight alongside the Goblins and Aurors but not one of you need to. I don't want you too, you can stay out of it but if you chose to then the main doors are where we meet" he said to them and each person nodded their understanding

"We should leave too, get our rest" Draco said and took Hermione's hand and led them all out of the room

"Harry when the time comes I want to fight" Bella said as they left the room hand in hand

"If you're sure then okay, but I need you to stay safe. I cannot lose you"

"I will Harry, you need to be safe too. I know you need to defeat him but come back to you"

"I promise I will. I promise you a happy life filled with some baby Potters" he smiled and kissed her

"I'll be waiting for you to keep that promise and threw her arms around his neck"

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Harry sat in his rooms waiting for one of the traps he and Draco had set up to go off; then he could mobilise the entire school. They couldn't give away their plan by enacting it early; so here he sat putting the lives of all Hogwarts students at risk. Johnathan had been furious about the plan and had triple checked with Amelia that everything would work and that there the plan was fool proof. He tightened his laces on his trainers and checked his wand holsters once more; tightening the band holding his hair back in a bony tail he watched the clock tick over to 12:30 and a few seconds later the alarms went off. He checked the map and saw Tom Riddle on the fringe of the forbidden forest with Alecto Carrow and Amycus Carrow beside him. Behind him the names blurred into one another so that Harry could not make them out from each other

He ran through the castle and got the prefects awake; he now had access to the entire castle since this plan could not be delayed.

"Draco" he said when he found the blonde

"Slytherin and Ravenclaw are moving out, did you get Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?" he asked

"Yes, here's the map. Make sure everyone gets out and meet me at the front doors as soon as you're ready" he said and took off again

He had learned how to activate the statues and suits of armour so as he passed them he caused them to spring to life. It was time for the battle to save the world

He reached the front doors and opened them to let all the statues and suits of armour out to battle; when he opened the doors, he was horrified at what he saw. Giants, dementors and trolls were advancing across the grounds at the Goblin army who let out a war cry and then attacked. The battle of Hogwarts had begun

"Harry, their all off the grounds and the Goblins and that Healer in the main hall are busy with the soul containers. They will send off fireworks once the soul containers are destroyed"

"Okay then it is time for us to join the fight Draco" Harry said

"Not without us" Neville said followed by Hermione, Seamus, Dean, Hannah, Bellatrix, Susan and Justin "We've trained for this and we're not letting you fight alone" Neville said pulling out the Longbottom war axe

"I'm not going to stop you from fighting but I can't afford you to lose focus. This is life or death; I need you to understand that" he pleaded

"Then it's good we're here to help" Sirius said and entered with the entire Hogwarts staff

Harry pulled Bella close and kissed her "Stay alive!"

"I will, you promised me children and a happy life. So, you better stay alive too" she said and squeezed his hand once more

"Let's go then, I need everyone who can cast a patronus out front" Harry said and pulled the Elder wand

"Expecto Patronum" the shouted as the exited the doors. They managed to reached the Goblin defensive lines before the Dementors had and managed to drive them off

"Wards are set Mr Potter, no one in a one-hundred-kilometre radius will be able to apparate unless they have these" he said and showed Harry a bracelet

"Aurors are five minutes out" a goblin called

Harry and Draco waded into the fight and cut down a Giant quite quickly; Draco sending three spears into the beast's chest and Harry driving the sword of Gryffindor into its skull. Harry flitted around the battlefield taking down opponents and assisting groups were necessary

His robes had caught fire and been cut quite a bit by this stage but he was unharmed thanks to the magic he used to make himself quicker. He hadn't seen Draco in a while and assumed the boy was performing the same function he was

Harry was surprised at the sheer brutality and effectiveness the Goblins had; they had taken care of most of the trolls and giants already and were starting to cut down Death Eaters as well

"Ah young Potter, Master wants you alive but he never said I couldn't have fun" the male Carrow said advancing on him

"Not today" Harry said and threw the sword at the man as a distraction and then he pulled both wands casting blasting and cutting curses so quickly that all the man could do was evade or shield himself. Harry was advancing on him when a war hammer came down brutally on the man's face

"Glad I could help Potter" Seamus said and went on his way once more. Harry had to blink a few times to realise that Seamus was enjoying the fight enough to be snarky in the middle of it

"Bloody Gryffindor's" he muttered

Draco had not expected this many Voldemort supporters which proved to him that all the intel in the world wouldn't help them against an enemy like Voldemort. He stopped short when his spear was ripped from his hand and he was faced with Snake face himself

"Ah young Draco, that you fight for the light is so disappointing. Your father would be ashamed"

"Not as ashamed as I am to be his son" the blonde spat

"Come now Draco, there is time for us still to heal this" indicated to the space between them "Join me and you will be a king" he said

"I would rather die" he said

"Now Draco is that any way to talk to the heir of Slytherin?" he said and patted Nagini "Dinner" he hissed to the snake who coiled and leapt forward but found only the sword of Gryffindor running through it

"No!" Voldemort shouted

"Potter, you will die before the sun rises. Your little ritual will not be completed tonight" he said laughing and made for an attack which was interrupted when a statue came flying their way and landed between them

"Take down more Death Eaters" Harry said to Draco and went sprinting away once more seeing Blackclaw facing three Death Eaters alone. Harry cut down one and then they faced off in a two on two battle that thankfully didn't last long

"Thank you Potter, no wizard has used a Goblin blade as well as you have. I would accuse you of having Goblin blood in you if you were shorter" he laughed

"Do you think this will last longer still?" he asked

"No, we should take his forces down shortly before sunset. This has gone on too long already" he said and threw daggers across the field into the thigh of a Death Eater

"Get everyone inside the castle and seal the doors then, it's time for me to take on Tom" Harry said but he saw Bella crawling backward from the female Carrow and bolted across the field; grabbing one of Draco's spears and threw it with all his might and magic across the field and through the woman's skull

"Are you okay?" he asked

"I think I have a broken leg" she winced as he picked her up

He carried her into the building and saw a triage had been set up just into the hall; he ran out and saw Voldemort across the field fighting Draco but was toying with the blonde whose arm hung at an awkward angle.

"Neville with me, Dean and Seamus get the wounded inside now" he said sprinting across the field once more and aimed a blasting curse at Voldemort who simply jumped backward

"Neville get him inside" he demanded

"But Harry" the axe wielding boy started

"Now!" he said and became smoke and tackled Voldemort taking him high over the forbidden forest until he saw a clearing and then smashed into the ground

 **AN – Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review!**


	38. Chapter 38

**AN – Hey guys and girls, here we go for**

 **Chapter 38**

Harry stood in the clearing with Voldemort; breathing heavily and his body bruised he looked at the man he could have become. They had endured the same torment throughout their childhood years; their experiences created this scenario

"Give up Tom" Harry said which shocked the older wizard. No one dared call him that except the old fool

"So you're Dumbledore's man?" Voldemort asked

"No, I'm just addressing you by your name and not your self-given title" Harry said

"So you know about my past then?" he asked curiously

"I do, I know you struggled with the same pains I did. Being bullied, being excluded, being made to feel like you're worth less than everyone else, being abused at the hands of those who were to care for you and then you find out about the power you have and your world view changes. They didn't beat you because you were weak, they did it because they were scared" Harry said, he had to buy them time. They hadn't given him the sign yet and he couldn't do what needed to be done

"They will all fear me, I will make them cower in fear. Once you are defeated no one will dare stand up to me" Voldemort shouted

"Why do you need to pass on the pain? That only causes a new threat" Harry reasoned

"You think you're a threat?" he laughed at the younger wizard

"I am, but we can also be allies. We can walk a path for the betterment of the world; both Magical and Muggle. We can punish those inflicting pain and suffering in both worlds. They aren't that much different from us Tom" Harry said

"I wish to destroy them!" he shouted

"And I wish to protect the good, even the good within you Tom" Harry said

"That name died with me the first time, I am truly Lord Voldemort now. Heir of Slytherin" he announced

"And I am Harry James Potter, Heir of Gryffindor. We can build together, look at what they built together" he gestured to the school behind him "We can build something better, something that does not allow the evil you've created to exist again"

"You cannot save me Harry James Potter, I have gone too far to ensure my survival and my victory. Your killing of my Nagini means far more than you know but her death will not impede my triumph"

"Why are you hell bent on destroying the world?"

"So I can rebuild it in my image, I will be the God of this new world"

Harry saw the fireworks go off in the distance, the time had come. The time to end the evil known as Lord Voldemort; but in front of him he just saw the young boy from the orphanage, the same one who had dealt with torture and abuse just like he had. How could he defeat himself, he watched Voldemort go down on one knee

"So you knew what Nagini was then?" he panted

"I've known for a year now, your magic and experience was complex to overcome. This doesn't have to end in a fight Tom" Harry said and threw the sword in the ground

"I told you Tom…" he started

"No he didn't! He is still there in you, otherwise you wouldn't be persecuting Muggles and muggleborn" Harry shouted

"That will die with you" Voldemort said getting to his feet

"Then I have no choice. I, Harry James Potter, challenge you Tom Marvolo Riddle to a duel to the death. No one else to interfere, for the fate of the magical world's future and the survival of the Muggle world. Heir of Slytherin against the Heir of Gryffindor"

"I accept your challenge. Let us begin" Voldemort said standing there in plain black robes

"Three" Harry counted off as he removed his robes and stood there in a pair of sneakers, jeans and a shirt

"Two" Voldemort shouted and watched Harry remove a second wand, the Elder wand

"ONE!" They shouted together and the fight started

Both dissolved into smoke and clashed into one another, green and red lines in the figures. Harry reformed and shot off three cutting curses and a curse to force Tom into his physical form; Tom dodged all three cutters but was hit by the fourth curse and landed on his feet.

"You're better than I expected" Tom said grinning "A fight for the ages then" he drew his wand and fired off three Killing curses in rapid succession. Harry raised a wall of sand to block it and immediately took off to the right and fired off six bone crushing curses. Tom barely avoided the curses and sent off his own curses, next he conjured a few snakes and sent them off to attack Harry.

Voldemort took time to gather magic and created a sword made of pure magic, he attack Harry as well; Harry had just killed the last snake and immediately had to dodge a sword. But had his pony tail cut off; his hair fell over his face.

"Close" Harry muttered and stowed both wands and summoned the sword

"A sword fight" Voldemort laughed and stowed his wand as well

"Let's go" Harry said and rushed him

Voldemort brought his sword down hard but was parried by Harry's; he spun and went for Harry's mid-section but was blocked by the quickest reflexes he'd ever seen. Harry kicked him in the chest and watched him roll backwards. Harry dissolved into smoke and surrounded Voldemort but he was also forced back into his solid form

"No more parlour tricks" he said

Then the fight started once more; Harry swung his sword upward but missed Voldemort only cutting his robes. He stepped forward and put his full power behind his next blow and went for Voldemort's mid-section; Voldemort saw the strike coming and intercepted the blade. The light from the blades hitting one another was blinding and both men closed their eyes. When Harry opened his eyes he looked down at the sword and saw that it had cracked

"I think that might be a first, a goblin blade being broken" Voldemort laughed, Harry saw that the blade Tom had summoned had dissipated and that his hand was burnt. He drew his wands and sent off three bone breaking curses which Voldemort summoned a shield to block them

"Not interested in exchanging words with me? Tired of trying to save me?" He laughed

"I'm not, I've just decided to save the world first" he said and cast a powered ascendio and flew high in the sky and sent off thousands of flaming arrows from up high. Voldemort watched as they came flying down and used a combination of shields and dodging to stay uninjured but three arrows pierced his right leg, Harry landed and pressed his advantage by sending a barrage of curses on a weakened Voldemort. The older wizard fired off a few killing curses only for them to be intercepted by a few canaries, he sent off a crucio but Harry threw it off without second thought.

Harry swapped wands and had the Elder wand in his right and summoned a fire whip and hit Voldemort right in the chest. He drew the whip back but it faded and he dropped to his knees; his magic was almost completely gone, how long had they been fighting? He looked to the horizon and saw that the sun was almost rising

"Tired Harry?" Voldemort asked and pulled himself to his feet

"I can still beat you" he said

''Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted but no spell burst forth from his wand

Harry stepped forward so that they were only feet apart

"Give up, we've defeated your army. You're soul anchors are destroyed and you're magically exhausted" Harry said

"But you forget I was raised by muggles" he said and swung his left fist and caught Harry in the side. Harry raised his fists and tried for a jab but Voldemort moved backward; Harry's vision would be impaired shortly if the sun rose which was mere moments away. He started flanking Voldemort trying to get the older man to face the rising sun; which he did. Harry attacked but was out classed in the fist fight, all he could do was wait for his moment. He heard Hagrid's roosters make a noise and knew it wasn't far away now; he ducked a high right hook and then the sun rose blinding Voldemort. Harry summoned the sword and slashed upwards with all his might; being so close Voldemort knew that this was it. He could not dodge this end; the sword entered right above his left hip and slashed through his chest where he felt the blade break off and the rest of it still in Harry's hand

"Congratulations" He muttered

"Good bye Tom" he said and watched the older man die. He looked around and got his bearings, gathered a handful of the older man's robes and set off for the castle. He dragged the body through the forest and then over the fields; he reached the door of the castle and lifted the body of Voldemort and threw it over his shoulder. Pressing his hand against the door and letting some magic undo his spell; the doors flew open and he was faced with shocked faces.

"Harry!" Bella shouted and forced her way through the crowd "Is he?"

"Dead? Yes he is Bella. We're free of his tyranny" Harry said and dropped the body for all to see

"Old Voldy is dead" Peeves shouted through the castle and cheers erupted as the message spread

"Are you okay?" Bella asked as Harry sat on the floor

"I'm good now" he said pulling her into his lap and kissing her "Now about that promise" he said grinning at her which caused he to blush deeply

 **AN – One more closing chapter and then we'll be done. Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, follows and PMs**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

Harry sat at his desk wondering where the years had gone; he was nearing fifty and life had only gotten more interesting after the defeat of Voldemort. He could not have imagined half of the things that would happen.

The most surprising of all was the Goblin nation and the strides they had made towards Blackclaw's goal. Yes they hadn't managed to get a Goblin student in Hogwarts but they did have a few working at the Ministry and two of them sat in the Wizengamot. Blackclaw was also awarded an order of Merlin alongside Sirius, Remus and Draco; Harry had turned down his so that Blackclaw could receive one instead. It was the first step he made to pay the Goblin's back for the wonderful job they had done

Sirius and Amelia had gotten married shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, Amelia had resigned from her post as well having fought enough for three lifetimes. They had twins the following summer; Celeste and Carina Black. The future of House Black looked brighter than it had in a long time

Draco and Hermione had both decided to pursue Ministry careers, even though Draco still ran a few businesses. Hermione had been very disheartened at working in the Ministry and within three short years left the ministry to teach at Hogwarts. She had taken over from her hero and role model and taught Transfiguration, she found happiness in the position and managed to change the future through teaching. Draco had more success in the ministry and was appointed to as the Director of the DMLE and was tipped to become the next minister if Harry said no one more time. Hermione and Draco as a couple never ended up working out but their time together made them better for their future partners; Draco married Gabrielle Delacour and Hermione married a muggle named Michael Stonebridge.

The rest of their friends had stayed in touch over the years; Susan and Dean had travelled the world extensively, sometimes together and sometimes apart. The quickly realised that they preferred travelling together and soon they married in the Rocky Mountains and settled somewhere in America.

Justin had become an Auror and died tracking down the last of the Death Eaters; it had been the first funeral they attended after the war. Hannah took the news the worst, Susan later revealed that Hannah had been very close to Justin and that he was like a brother to her.

Neville to everyone's surprise had decided to become a Healer and now spent his days in the children's ward in St Mungo's. It was the place where he met a young nurse who he would end up marrying. Francois Benjamin Longbottom was due to graduate Hogwarts soon, he was a much more confident young man than his father had been

Seamus had vanished from the face of the earth and no one had been able to find him for the longest time. Harry had assumed the worst but they never found out what happened to Seamus; Bella and Hermione still wrote him a letter every year to try and find him, they always came back with the owls.

Remus kept working for the Black Wolf security company and had even started offering their services to Muggles thanks to Mr and Mrs Granger who now owned half the business. Remus had never settled down with anyone and preferred being the lone wolf of the family

Harry and Bella had lived the most curious life of them all; they married shortly after Sirius had his twins and they took a long honeymoon. Upon returning they found out Bella could no longer have children thanks to the potion Lestrange had had her under. Though this would always be a regret they couple would have but permanently had their house filled with children as Harry had started the first magical Orphanage when he found out how many children had been left without parents. He spent his days filling the needs of various children alongside his wife and life partner; Bella would be called mom by over 1000 children in her lifetime.

Happiness was found in every corner of his home; just as he always intended

 **AN – THANK YOU FOR READING! All your reviews have made me a very happy author. Till next time friends**


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